[ros-users] Interfacing a new arm driver to a motion planner

Dear list,

I am currently writing a ROS node for the Neuronics Katana 450 arm and
would be happy about a few quick pointers about how to continue. I am
aware of the ROS packages katana450, katana_ik_bridge and stair_katana;
however, I would like to reuse as much ROS stuff for IK, arm navigation
and motion planning as possible, so I decided to rewrite the code from
scratch.

So far,
- I have created a URDF description of the arm;
- I can read out the current joint angles and publish them as JointState
messages;
- I can move the arm to a desired joint angle configuration;
- I can move the arm to a target pose in space, using the inverse
kinematics library supplied with the arm (although I'm also eager to
give the ROS IK a try).

I have the feeling that I am almost done (right? come on, please!), but
I'm a little overwhelmed by the wealth of arm navigation stuff in ROS.
What are the messages/services/actions that I should provide to be able
to interface my arm to a motion planner, and to use the ROS IK, and so
on?

Best,
Martin

--
Dipl.-Inf. Martin Günther
Universität Osnabrück
Institut für Informatik
Albrechtstr. 28 (Raum 31/503)
D-49076 Osnabrück

Fon: 0541 969 2434
http://www.inf.uos.de/mguenthe/