[ros-users] Preferred way of publishing hardware state information

[Nate Roney]

Hi Everyone,

After successfully decoding the data stream coming from the AR.Drone, I now
need to publish this data from ardrone_driver. I've been reviewing the ways
different drivers (p2os, erratic, pr2, iCreate) publish information like
this. Naturally, it seems very robot-specific, since most hardware is
inherently different.

A sensor_msgs/Imu seems to be the best option for the onboard IMU.

Some other information that is specific to this platform (altitude, battery
info, airborne state, etc), however, will require a custom message. I'd like
to get opinions on what the best way to structure this message would be. All
units will, of course, be used as specified in REP 103.

I can't seem to find any information on a standard way of publishing power
state, though. Based on the pr2 PowerState message, I'm thinking of
publishing current battery voltage, consumption rate in watts, and estimated
capacity as a percentage. Would one of these alone be best, or should I
publish all of this information?

Also, I'm curious to know if it is preferred to split this information among
various messages, or to have one single message containing everything.

If anyone has any input on what the best way to structure this ARDroneState
message, I would appreciate it. Hopefully, sometime soon, a standard for
flying robots will emerge ;)

Cheers,
Nate Roney
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