arena_human_plugin

This repository provides the arena_human_plugin - a generic Gazebo Garden plugin for controlling human pedestrians in the Arena-Rosnav navigation framework.

The plugin serves as a universal interface between human simulation systems and Gazebo, enabling standardized pedestrian control across different human behavior simulators.

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🎯 Purpose & Vision

The Arena Human Plugin is designed to be a generic foundation for all human simulators in Arena-Rosnav. It provides:

• Standardized pedestrian control via arena_people_msgs
• ECM-based entity management for Gazebo actors
• Simulator-agnostic interface for future human behavior systems
• Modular architecture separating generic control from simulator-specific logic

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🔗 Related Projects & Integration

Current Integration

• HuNavSim (pedestrian simulation): https://github.com/robotics-upo/hunav_sim
• HuNav Gazebo Plugin: https://github.com/Arena-Rosnav/hunav_gz_plugin
• Arena-Rosnav: https://github.com/Arena-Rosnav

Future Extensions

Additional human simulators will be integrated through this standardized interface, including:

• Pedestrian behavior models
• Crowd simulation systems
• Social navigation frameworks

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📡 Communication Interface

Input Topics

• /arena_peds (arena_people_msgs/Pedestrians) - Standardized pedestrian state and control commands

Message Format

The plugin uses the Arena People Messages (arena_people_msgs) package:

• Pedestrian.msg - Individual pedestrian state (position, orientation, velocity, animation)
• Pedestrians.msg - Collection of all pedestrians with header information

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🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────┐    arena_people_msgs    ┌──────────────────────┐
│   Human Simulator   │ ──────────────────────> │  Arena Human Plugin  │
│   (e.g. HuNavSim)   │    /arena_peds          │   (Generic Control)  │
└─────────────────────┘                         └──────────────────────┘
                                                            │
                                                            ▼
                                                 ┌──────────────────────┐
                                                 │   Gazebo ECM/Actors  │
                                                 │  (Visual Simulation) │
                                                 └──────────────────────┘

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🧠 Plugin Features

Core Functionality

• Actor Management: Spawn, update, and control Gazebo actors
• Position Control: Set actor positions and orientations via ECM
• Animation Integration: Coordinate actor animations with movement
• Transform Broadcasting: Publish TF transforms for each pedestrian

Technical Capabilities

• EntityComponentManager integration for efficient Gazebo control
• Real-time updates via subscription to arena_peds topic
• Thread-safe actor state management
• Configurable animation states and behaviors

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• ROS 2 Humble
• Gazebo Garden (gz-sim8)
• arena_people_msgs package

🔄 Integration with Human Simulators

Current: HuNavSim

HuNavSim integration works through:

1. HunavManager computes pedestrian behaviors
2. Arena People Messages published to /arena_peds
3. Arena Human Plugin applies commands to Gazebo actors
4. HuNav Gazebo Plugin handles simulator-specific features (obstacles, etc.)

Future: Additional Simulators

New human simulators can integrate by:

1. Publishing to /arena_peds topic using arena_people_msgs
2. Following the standardized message format
3. Utilizing this plugin for Gazebo visualization

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📜 License

MIT License – see LICENSE for details.

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