Tactigon ROS2 Nodes Installation and Usage Guide

Welcome to the Tactigon ROS2 Nodes guide! This document will help you install and use the Tactigon-based ROS2 packages.

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🚀 Prerequisites

1️⃣ Install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Download and install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS from the official website.

2️⃣ Install ROS2 Jazzy

Follow the official ROS2 Jazzy Installation Guide to install ROS2 and its developer tools.

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📁 Setting Up the ROS2 Workspace

1️⃣ Download and Extract Files

Download the compressed file containing the following folders:

models/
src/

Extract the file into a directory named ros2_ws:

mkdir -p ~/ros2_ws
cd ~/ros2_ws
# Extract your compressed file here

Your workspace structure should look like this:

ros2_ws/
├── models/
└── src/
    ├── tactigon_msgs/          # Custom message definitions
    └── tactigon_ros/           # Python package with nodes

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🔨 Building the ROS2 Workspace

1️⃣ Install Dependencies

cd ~/ros2_ws
export PIP_BREAK_SYSTEM_PACKAGES=1
rosdep update
rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -y 

2️⃣ Build the Workspace

colcon build

3️⃣ Source the Workspace

source install/setup.bash

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📦 The tactigon_msgs Package

This package contains custom message definitions for the Tactigon device.

Message Definitions

📌 Located in tactigon_msgs/msg/

• TSkinState.msg - Full state of the Tactigon device
• Touch.msg - Touchpad data
• Angle.msg - IMU (orientation) data
• Gesture.msg - Gesture detection data

Example: TSkinState.msg

builtin_interfaces/Time timestamp
bool connected
uint8 battery
uint8 selector
bool selector_valid
float32 touchpad_x_pos
float32 touchpad_y_pos
float32 angle_roll
float32 angle_pitch
float32 angle_yaw
string gesture_gesture
float32 gesture_probability

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▶ Running the Nodes

1️⃣ Start the tactigon_ros Nodes

tactigon_data - Publishes Tactigon data

ros2 run tactigon_ros tactigon_data

tactigon_logger - Logs sensor data

ros2 run tactigon_ros tactigon_logger

tactigon_turtlesim_controller - Controls Turtlesim via gestures

ros2 run turtlesim turtlesim_node

ros2 run tactigon_ros tactigon_turtlesim_controller

2️⃣ Check Topics

Verify the nodes are publishing correctly:

ros2 topic list

Expected output:

/tactigon/state
/tactigon/log
/turtle1/cmd_vel

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❓ Troubleshooting

❌ Python Virtual Environment Not Found ➡ Ensure PYTHONPATH is correctly set.

❌ Workspace Not Sourced ➡ Run:

source ~/ros2_ws/install/setup.bash

❌ Package Not Found ➡ Ensure you ran colcon build and sourced it correctly.

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📧 Questions? Contact me at stage_robotica@nextind.eu .

🎯 Happy ROS2 Development! 🚀