canTransform

This example shows how to create a transformation and send it over the ROS network.

Create a ROS transformation tree. Use rosinit to connect a ROS network. Replace ipaddress with your ROS network address.

rosinit;

Launching ROS Core...
....Done in 4.1192 seconds.
Initializing ROS master on http://192.168.125.1:56090.
Initializing global node /matlab_global_node_16894 with NodeURI http://HYD-KVENNAPU:63122/

tftree = rostf;
pause(2)

Verify the transformation you want to send over the network does not already exist. The canTransform function returns false if the transformation is not immediately available.

canTransform(tftree,'new_frame','base_link')

ans = logical
   0

Create a TransformStamped message. Populate the message fields with the transformation information.

tform = rosmessage('geometry_msgs/TransformStamped');
tform.ChildFrameId = 'new_frame';
tform.Header.FrameId = 'base_link';
tform.Transform.Translation.X = 0.5;
tform.Transform.Rotation.X = 0.5;
tform.Transform.Rotation.Y = 0.5;
tform.Transform.Rotation.Z = 0.5;
tform.Transform.Rotation.W = 0.5;

Send the transformation over the ROS network.

sendTransform(tftree,tform)

Verify the transformation is now on the ROS network.

canTransform(tftree,'new_frame','base_link')

ans = logical
   1

Shut down the ROS network.

rosshutdown

Shutting down global node /matlab_global_node_16894 with NodeURI http://HYD-KVENNAPU:63122/
Shutting down ROS master on http://192.168.125.1:56090.

This example shows how to set up a ROS transformation tree and transform frames based on transformation tree information. It uses time-buffered transformations to access transformations at different times.

Create a ROS transformation tree. Use rosinit to connect to a ROS network. Replace ipaddress with your ROS network address.

ipaddress = '192.168.17.129';
rosinit(ipaddress,11311)

Initializing global node /matlab_global_node_14346 with NodeURI http://192.168.17.1:56312/

tftree = rostf;
pause(1)

Look at the available frames on the transformation tree.

tftree.AvailableFrames

ans = 36×1 cell
    {'base_footprint'            }
    {'base_link'                 }
    {'camera_depth_frame'        }
    {'camera_depth_optical_frame'}
    {'camera_link'               }
    {'camera_rgb_frame'          }
    {'camera_rgb_optical_frame'  }
    {'caster_back_link'          }
    {'caster_front_link'         }
    {'cliff_sensor_front_link'   }
    {'cliff_sensor_left_link'    }
    {'cliff_sensor_right_link'   }
    {'gyro_link'                 }
    {'mount_asus_xtion_pro_link' }
    {'odom'                      }
    {'plate_bottom_link'         }
    {'plate_middle_link'         }
    {'plate_top_link'            }
    {'pole_bottom_0_link'        }
    {'pole_bottom_1_link'        }
    {'pole_bottom_2_link'        }
    {'pole_bottom_3_link'        }
    {'pole_bottom_4_link'        }
    {'pole_bottom_5_link'        }
    {'pole_kinect_0_link'        }
    {'pole_kinect_1_link'        }
    {'pole_middle_0_link'        }
    {'pole_middle_1_link'        }
    {'pole_middle_2_link'        }
    {'pole_middle_3_link'        }
      ⋮

Check if the desired transformation is now available. For this example, check for the transformation from 'camera_link' to 'base_link'.

canTransform(tftree,'base_link','camera_link')

ans = logical
   1

Get the transformation for 3 seconds from now. The getTransform function will wait until the transformation becomes available with the specified timeout.

desiredTime = rostime('now') + 3;
tform = getTransform(tftree,'base_link','camera_link',...
                     desiredTime,'Timeout',5);

Create a ROS message to transform. Messages can also be retrieved off the ROS network.

pt = rosmessage('geometry_msgs/PointStamped');
pt.Header.FrameId = 'camera_link';
pt.Point.X = 3;
pt.Point.Y = 1.5;
pt.Point.Z = 0.2;

Transform the ROS message to the 'base_link' frame using the desired time previously saved.

tfpt = transform(tftree,'base_link',pt,desiredTime);

Optional: You can also use apply with the stored tform to apply this transformation to the pt message.

tfpt2 = apply(tform,pt);

Shut down the ROS network.

rosshutdown

Shutting down global node /matlab_global_node_14346 with NodeURI http://192.168.17.1:56312/

Get transformations from rosbag (.bag) files by loading the rosbag and checking the available frames. From these frames, use getTransform to query the transformation between two coordinate frames.

Load the rosbag.

bag = rosbag('ros_turtlesim.bag');

Get a list of available frames.

frames = bag.AvailableFrames;

Get the latest transformation between two coordinate frames.

tf = getTransform(bag,'world',frames{1});

Check for a transformation available at a specific time and retrieve the transformation. Use canTransform to check if the transformation is available. Specify the time using rostime.

tfTime = rostime(bag.StartTime + 1);
if (canTransform(bag,'world',frames{1},tfTime))
    tf2 = getTransform(bag,'world',frames{1},tfTime);
end

Get transformations from rosbag (.bag) files by loading the rosbag and checking the available frames. From these frames, use getTransform to query the transformation between two coordinate frames.

Load the rosbag.

bagMsgs = rosbagreader("ros_turtlesim.bag")

bagMsgs = 
  rosbagreader with properties:

           FilePath: '/tmp/Bdoc24b_2725827_1911022/tpd3d2b8ed/ros-ex81142742/ros_turtlesim.bag'
          StartTime: 1.5040e+09
            EndTime: 1.5040e+09
        NumMessages: 6089
    AvailableTopics: [6x3 table]
    AvailableFrames: {2x1 cell}
        MessageList: [6089x4 table]

Get a list of available frames.

frames = bagMsgs.AvailableFrames

frames = 2x1 cell
    {'turtle1'}
    {'world'  }

Get the latest transformation between two coordinate frames.

tf = getTransform(bagMsgs,'world',frames{1})

tf = 
  ROS TransformStamped message with properties:

     MessageType: 'geometry_msgs/TransformStamped'
          Header: [1x1 Header]
       Transform: [1x1 Transform]
    ChildFrameId: 'turtle1'

  Use showdetails to show the contents of the message

Check for a transformation available at a specific time and retrieve the transformation. Use canTransform to check if the transformation is available. Specify the time using rostime.

tfTime = rostime(bagMsgs.StartTime + 1);
if (canTransform(bagMsgs,'world',frames{1},tfTime))
    tf2 = getTransform(bagMsgs,'world',frames{1},tfTime);
end