Since FlexBE is very versatile and offers a lot of options depending on what you want to realize, it is not required to complete all of the tutorials before starting to work productively. After you have a general understanding of how things work (the first block of the tutorials), feel free to just use and explore FlexBE on your own. Come back here to learn more about certain details whenever required.
Missing advanced tutorials will be completed soon. Please simply contact me for support until then.
Basic Tutorials
Get started with FlexBE.
- System Configuration
Reviews your FlexBE installation and points out the most important components.
- Creating a New Behavior
Explains how to set up a new behavior using the FlexBE UI.
- Using the Statemachine Editor
Teaches the most important basic steps to define the control flow implementation of a behavior based on the graphical editor.
- Execution of a Behavior
Explains how to execute a developed behavior in the graphical user interface.
- Developing Basic States
Gives a template and a basic overview of developing a new state implementation.
Third-Party Tutorials
The following tutorials have been created by third parties to introduce FlexBE. Please consider these resources as well in order to get started.
TheConstruct published three consecutive FlexBE sessions in their "ROS Developers LIVE-Class" series:
ROS Developers LIVE-Class #26: Robot Behavior Design using the FlexBe Engine
ROS Developers LIVE-Class #27: Robot Behavior Design using the FlexBe Engine Round 2
ROS Developers LIVE-Class #28: Robot Behavior Design using the FlexBe Engine Round 3
TU Delft released a introductory course to ROS on edX as part of the ROSIN project. Week 6 provides a detailed introduction into behavior design with FlexBE on a nicely prepared factory simulation demo.
Hello (Real) World with ROS – Robot Operating System: Info about the course
Hello (Real) World with ROS – Robot Operating System: First introduction video of module 6 (FlexBE)
Hello (Real) World with ROS – Robot Operating System: List of all FlexBE lectures
Advanced Tutorials
Learn more about specific features of FlexBE after completing the basic tutorials.
- Developing Actionlib States
States based on actionlib actions are very common and typically share a similar pattern. This tutorial presents how to easily create them.
- The State Lifecycle
Presents a complete overview of the lifecycle of a state and the related event callbacks.
- Writing State Tests Using flexbe_testing
Unit testing of states is very helpful for ensuring that the building blocks for behaviors work as expected. This tutorial explains how to use the framework flexbe_testing for this purpose.
- State Design Discussions
Proper state design can reduce complexity of behaviors significantly. Some best practices are given for reference.
- Behavior Design Discussions
Modular behavior design helps a lot when facing complex tasks. Some ideas are discussed in this tutorial.
- Parallel State Execution
A sequential execution of states may not always be sufficient. This tutorial presents how to realize concurrency.
- Advanced GUI Tools
The FlexBE user interface provides tools for greatly facilitating behavior creation. These are presented in this tutorial.
- Running Behaviors Without Operator
Sometimes it is required to run behaviors without a user interface or they should be embedded in another high-level framework. Two ways of achieving this are presented.
- Integrate Data Input for Behaviors
Behaviors can request required data from the operator using flexbe_input. This tutorial helps you integrate the interface into your custom operator GUI.
- Behavior Synthesis Interface
Behavior synthesis enables to automatically draft entire state machines from abstract specifications. This tutorial outlines the interface provided by FlexBE and shows how to embed existing synthesis solutions.
- Logging Behavior Execution
FlexBE offers to log many details during execution of states and behaviors. This tutorial provides an overview and shows configuration options.
Create a new tutorial: