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Bringup

This section explains how the hightorque_bringup package organizes the robot runtime environment and starts the core runtime nodes required by the PI Plus system.

The bringup process is responsible for:

  • Resolving the correct robot configuration directory from the robot model parameters
  • Starting the core runtime nodes required by the robot
  • Initializing the motor middleware and hardware support nodes
  • Bringing up the joystick input chain
  • Preparing the runtime environment for higher-level controllers and policy execution

Overview

hightorque_bringup is used to organize the core runtime nodes and configuration files required for robot operation.

Its most common purposes are:

  1. Automatically locating the correct configuration directory according to the robot configuration
  2. Launching the base runtime nodes, including middleware, IMU, OLED, power, joystick, and related support components

The current main launch file is:

pi_plus_rknn.launch.py

Required Runtime Components

A typical bringup workflow depends on a set of core runtime components, including:

  • Motor middleware layer
  • Message definitions
  • Joystick filtering
  • IMU support
  • OLED support
  • Power control
  • Motor SDK

Configuration Directory

The bringup system constructs a robot_type string from the following parameters:

  • model_type
  • leg_type
  • leg
  • arm
  • claw
  • head
  • waist

For example:

pi_plus-S-12L8A0G2H0W

The corresponding configuration directory is:

hightorque_bringup/config/robot_config/<robot_type>/

This directory typically contains at least the following files:

  • robot_param.yaml
  • pd.yaml
  • custom_action.yaml

robot_param.yaml

robot_param.yaml defines robot hardware and device-level configuration.

It is mainly used by:

  • Low-level drivers
  • External device nodes
  • Hardware-related runtime components

pd.yaml

pd.yaml is not just a PD gain table. It should be understood as a joint control configuration table.

It is automatically located by hightorque_midware_node through the robot_config_path and loaded during startup.

Example path:

hightorque_bringup/config/robot_config/pi_plus-S-12L8A0G2H0W/pd.yaml

It defines:

  • joint_names
  • map_index
  • direction
  • lower / upper
  • urdf_offset
  • kp / kd
  • supports_kinematics

custom_action.yaml

custom_action.yaml stores custom action definitions for specific robot configurations.

How pd.yaml Is Used by the Middleware

During initialization, hightorque_midware_node uses pd.yaml to:

  • Build the mapping between joint names and motor IDs
  • Read default kp / kd values
  • Align software coordinates with hardware coordinates
  • Clamp outgoing commands within valid ranges

Nodes Started by Bringup

1. hightorque_midware_node

  • Package: hightorque_midware
  • Executable: hightorque_midware_node

Responsibilities:

  • Manage motor control ownership
  • Provide control interfaces
  • Convert commands to motor instructions
  • Publish /joint_states

2. yesense_imu_node

  • Package: yesense_imu_ros2
  • Executable: yesense_imu_node

Responsibilities:

  • Read IMU data
  • Publish orientation, velocity, acceleration

3. hightorque_oled_node

  • Package: hightorque_oled
  • Executable: hightorque_oled_node

Responsibilities:

  • Display runtime status on OLED

4. power_node

  • Package: hightorque_power
  • Executable: power_node

Responsibilities:

  • Power monitoring and management

5. joy_linux_node

  • Package: joy_linux
  • Executable: joy_linux_node

Responsibilities:

  • Read joystick input from /dev/input/js0
  • Publish raw input

6. joy_mapper_node.py

  • Package: hightorque_midware
  • Executable: joy_mapper_node.py

Responsibilities:

  • Convert raw joystick data to unified format

7. humanoid_driver

  • Package: humanoid_driver
  • Executable: humanoid_driver

Responsibilities:

  • Joystick filtering

Bringup Workflow

Bringup performs:

  1. Resolve robot configuration
  2. Start hardware nodes
  3. Start middleware
  4. Start joystick chain
  5. Prepare for controllers

Common Parameters

  • robot_id
  • model_type
  • leg_type
  • leg
  • arm
  • claw
  • head
  • waist
  • default_timeout_ms
  • policy_name

Namespace behavior:

  • Empty robot_id: no namespace
  • Non-empty: robot_<robot_id>

Example

ros2 launch hightorque_bringup pi_plus_rknn.launch.py \
 model_type:=pi_plus \
 leg_type:=S \
 leg:=12 \
 arm:=8 \
 claw:=0 \
 head:=2 \
 waist:=0

Resolved:

robot_type = pi_plus-S-12L8A0G2H0W

Debugging Guide

Check:

  1. robot_type
  2. pd.yaml parameters
  3. /joint_states
  4. IMU / power / joy
  5. policy layer

Summary

hightorque_bringup is the runtime entry point of the robot system.

It prepares:

  • Configuration
  • Runtime nodes
  • Middleware
  • Input and sensing