Call a service at startup with a launch file

asked 2011-09-21 01:02:04 -0600

Javier
408 ●10 ●15 ●24 http://blog.javiercorrea.cl/

Is it possible to call a service from a launch file once at startup? We want to call the service /global_localization of AMCL the first time we launch our robot.

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answered 2011-09-21 08:31:22 -0600

bhaskara
1479 ●15 ●24 ●32

updated 2021-09-14 11:42:33 -0600

lucasw

8729 ●137 ●239 ●256 https://github.com/lucasw

Just have the call be its own node in the launch file:

<node pkg="rosservice" type="rosservice" name="global_loc" args="call --wait /global_localization" />

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That was my first idea, too. But as Lorenz wrote above, roslaunch tends to pass additional parameters which let rosservice choke.

roehling ( 2011-09-21 19:44:25 -0600 )edit

This worked for me, I just added that line verbatim directly under my AMCL launch line. I like this method better, it just feels right, light, and clean. :)

Dereck ( 2012-10-22 08:14:35 -0600 )edit

Apparently this no longer works in Groovy.... Comment here if you want this feature fixed I suppose: https://github.com/ros/ros_comm/issues/180

Dereck ( 2013-02-28 05:47:37 -0600 )edit

1

This works under hydro i just tested with this line of code in launch file under ubuntu 12.04: <node pkg="rosservice" type="rosservice" name="switch_ranger" args="call --wait /switch_ranger sonar_pioneer true"/>

Oscar Lima ( 2015-05-05 07:29:54 -0600 )edit

This still works under indigo like charm!

Karsten ( 2015-12-18 12:21:33 -0600 )edit

2

This also works under kinetic! Thank bhaskara for the answer:)

renweiros ( 2017-04-28 21:32:20 -0600 )edit

1

still works in melodic

Hakaishin ( 2019-09-10 06:07:21 -0600 )edit

2

Thanks works for me in melodic , for Gazebo service,

<node pkg="rosservice" type="rosservice" name="rosservice" args="call /gazebo/reset_simulation"/>

amjack ( 2020-12-10 06:17:16 -0600 )edit

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3

answered 2011-09-21 01:39:37 -0600

roehling
1951 ●25 ●28 ●43 http://www.fkie.fraunhofer.de/

updated 2011-09-21 01:40:10 -0600

I don't know how if it is possible in a clean way. A quick and dirty hack for Linux would be the misuse of the launch-prefix attribute.

In your package foo, create a file named kickstart with the content

#!/bin/bash
rosservice call --wait /global_localization &
exec "$@"

Then, make it executable using

chmod +x kickstart

Finally, add the following attribute to one of your <node> declarations in the launch file:

launch-prefix="$(find foo)/kickstart"

This will coax roslaunch into executing the kickstart script with the real node launch command line as parameters. The script performs the service call and executes the remainder of the command line, thus launching the node.

The --wait parameter ensures that the service is actually available, and the ampersand at the end of the rosservice line runs the call in the background, so the node launch will not be delayed.

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I think that won't work because roslaunch passes additional parameters such as renamed topics and the node's name which causes rosservice to die with an exception. I think the only way to call the service is to not use any cmd line params in the script but put the complete command there.

Lorenz ( 2011-09-21 02:11:29 -0600 )edit

That is why the kickstart script is needed. The rosservice call is completely independent of the node launch in the exec line below.

roehling ( 2011-09-21 02:49:07 -0600 )edit

Sorry. My bad. Never mind... I didn't read your code carefully enough. :)

Lorenz ( 2011-09-21 02:52:02 -0600 )edit

Thanks, it worked