Running the Software
The program is designed to visualized one configuration space scene at a time. A scene contains the configuration space representation, the robot representation, the obstacle representation, and a polygonal path for the robot. Refer to the following video for instructions on how to start the software.
User Interface
Refer to the following video which covers the main features of the software. A short summary of the controls is provided below.
2D View Controls
When the mouse cursor is inside the 2D viewport, the following operations can be performed:
- Camera pan: left-click and drag the mouse cursor.
- Camera zoom: scroll the mouse wheel.
- Robot translation: hover over the robot's origin, then left-click and drag.
- Robot rotation: hover over the robot's origin, then right-click and drag.
3D View Controls
When the mouse cursor is inside the 3D viewport, the following operations can be performed:
- Camera rotation: left-click and drag.
- Camera translation: hold the W, A, S, or D keys to move forward, left, back, or right.
Other Controls
Each scene has a default path for the robot. Use the slider at the bottom of the window to move the robot along this path.
Path Planning
WARNING: the custom motion planning does not check for invalid configurations and will not provide warnings if a path is not found. This feature is experimental and not well tested.
Click the arrow button (third from left) to enable path planning mode. At any point, press the ESCAPE key to cancel path planning mode. Set the starting configuration for the robot in the 2D view, then press ENTER. Set the ending configuration for the robot in the 2D view, then press ENTER. A new path will be created, and path planning mode is deactivated.