Sonoptix Sonar ROS2 Package

This ROS 2 package provides a driver and processing node for the Sonoptix Echo sonar. It allows you to interface with the sonar, capture raw data, and convert it into a polar image for visualization.

Sonar Data from a Joy Ride in a Pool

Sonar Data with Different Range Settings

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Table of Contents

• Overview
• Installation
• Launch Files
  • echo.launch.py
  • echo_decompress.launch.py
• Nodes
  • echo
  • echo_imager
• License

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Overview

This package contains two main nodes:

• echo.py: A driver node that interfaces directly with the Sonoptix sonar hardware. It captures raw sonar data and publishes it as a ROS 2 sensor_msgs/Image message.

• echo_imager.py: A processing node that subscribes to the raw sonar data, converts it into a polar (fan-shaped) image, and can either publish this image on a new topic or save it to a video file. This node can also process data from a ROS 2 bag file.

Installation

To install the sonoptix_sonar package, clone this repository into your ROS 2 workspace and build it using colcon:

cd ~/ros2_ws/src
git clone https://github.com/itskalvik/sonoptix_sonar.git
cd ~/ros2_ws
rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y
colcon build
source install/setup.bash

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Launch Files

echo.launch.py

Launches the echo node to publish sonar data and compresses the data stream for efficient transport. The echo node publisher with best_effort reliability QoS setting, this can be changed from the launch file or using the ros2 param set command.

Published Topics:

• Raw sonar data: /sonar/echo/data (sensor_msgs/Image)
• Compressed sonar data: /sonar/echo/compressed (sensor_msgs/CompressedImage)

Run Example:

ros2 launch sonoptix_sonar echo.launch.py

Use the following command to upate the range setting:

ros2 param set /echo range:=<[3 - 200] integer value>

echo_decompress.launch.py

Decompresses the previously compressed sonar echo data for downstream processing or visualization. This node is usually used when processing sonar data from a bag file.

Subscribed Topics: /sonar/echo/compressed

Published Topics: /sonar/echo/data (sensor_msgs/Image)

Run Example:

ros2 launch sonoptix_sonar decompress.launch.py

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Nodes

echo

Description: Publishes sonar profiles from the Sonoptix Echo.

Published Topics: /sonar/echo/data (sensor_msgs/Image)

Parameters: The parameters can be updated while running the node.

Name	Type	Default	Description
range	int	50	Sonar range in meters [3-200]
ip	str	"192.168.2.42"	IP address of the sonar device
tx_mode	str	"auto"	The transmit mode of the transceiver [auto, hf, lf, lflr]
power_state	bool	True	The power state of the transceiver
topic	str	/sonar/echo/data	Topic to publish sonar frames
frame_id	str	echo	TF frame ID

Run Example:

ros2 run sonoptix_sonar echo

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echo_imager

Description: Converts Echo sonar data into a polar image and publishes it.

Subscribed Topics: /sonar/echo/data

Published Topics: /sonar/echo/image (sensor_msgs/Image)

Parameters: The parameters can be updated while running the node.

Name	Type	Default	Description
data_topic	str	/sonar/echo/compressed	Input topic for sonar data (raw or compressed)
image_topic	str	/sonar/echo/image	Output topic for visualized image
contrast	float	10.0	Contrast multiplier for visualization
bag_file	str		Optional path to an input ros2 bag file with sonar data
video_file	str		Optional path to an output mp4 video file

Run Example:

ros2 run sonoptix_sonar echo_imager --ros-args -p contrast:=10 -p data_topic:=/sonar/echo/data

Note that when reading from a bag file, the node will export the output to echo_sonar.mp4 video file by default.

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License

This package is licensed under the MIT License. See the top of each file or LICENSE for details.