World Environment
The house and world environment are a key part of the system. It has several clearly defined requirements in the final version:
- Rectangular
- Hallway
- Kitchen
- Bedroom
- Bathroom
- Furniture
- Appliances
###Design Decisions
The world uses ROS's include file capability to decouple the implementation of the various stage models (Robots, furniture etc) with the .world file used to display them. This allows the models to be reused easily. The graphical representation of the models and floorplan was originally provided by .pgm files however we have utilized the 3D block functionality of stage to generate an interesting and colourful 3D world for the Final.
We explored the possibility of integrating Gazebo and ROS for a different display method. This was ultimately decided against given time constraints and scope creep.
###Initial Design Initially we made a basic floorplan .pgm image and included it in our world file for scale. The layout was a straight 'S' shaped hallway to allow the robots to test their turning functionality.
###Alpha Design
For the Alpha design we upgraded the house floorplan to include a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. These were supplemented with furniture and appliance .pgm files to provide obstacles and character.
###Final Design
For the Final design we wanted a simulation that really stood out. To achieve this we built 3D models of all of the objects in our world file, including:
- The Resident
- The Robots
- Oven
- Fridge
- Kitchen Bench
- Kitchen Table
- Hallway Table
- Bed
- Couch
- TV
- Shower
- Bathroom Sink
- Toilet
- Wooden Flooring
- Bathroom Tiles
- Grass
- Flowers
We also chose to use a red cross to represent our "Hospital" after deciding that modelling a real Hospital was out of scope of the project. The Robots were represented by colour coded cubes to differentiate between them.
Top-Down view of the environment.