API review

Proposer: Sachin Chitta

Present at review:

• Tully
• Gil
• Matei
• Radu (phone)

What to review

This package contains the messages for 3D mapping - in particular for representing collision maps and objects in collision maps. The documentation for these messages is mostly within the messages themselves and can be accessed through the package wiki documentation itself.

Question / concerns / comments

Enter your thoughts on the API and any questions / concerns you have here. Please sign your name. Anything you want to address in the API review should be marked down here before the start of the meeting.

Tully

• Use std_msgs::Empty service
• object action isn't an action
• oriented bounding box axis should be a vector not a point, possibly a pose
• mapping_msgs and geometric_shapes_msgs are too generic

Matei

• Why is ObjectsInMap plural?

  • since it contains a single id, seems that as far as the map is concerned, it is a single entity
  • why does it contain a vector of Shapes?
  • maybe there should be an Object message that can contain multiple Shapes?

• ObjectAction

  • it is nice that all that you can do with an object is encapsulated in a message, but the name is confusing since it's not an Action

• OrientedBoundingBox

  • this is a very general concept, does it really belong here? Maybe with geometric_shapes_msgs?

• CollisionMap / PolygonalMap

  • are these two possible forms of the same concept?

  • PolygonalMap does not have field descriptions in the message body

Meeting agenda

To be filled out by proposer based on comments gathered during API review period

Conclusion

Package status change mark change manifest)

• Action items that need to be taken.

• Major issues that need to be resolved

• Move the messages we need from mapping_msgs to collision_object_msgs and move geometric_shapes_msgs into this new package as well.

• Change ObjectsInMap to CollisionObject, the field of the message that says objects - change to shapes (DONE)

• Change ObjectAction to CollisionObjectOperation (DONE)

• Change comment in ObjectAction to make it clear that its only valid when part of AttachedObject.msg (DONE)

• Take the header out of AttachedObject message and use a message filter instead of the tf message filter. Also rename to AttachedCollisionObject (DONE)

• Stay with CollisionMap - add very descriptive comments

• More comments in OrientedBoundingBox - tutorials on the Wiki

• Change ResetCollisionMap to Empty.srv (std_msgs) (DONE)

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