Let me share what I found out:
- I performed a fresh installation of Ubuntu 12.10 and ROS Groovy following the standard procedures.
Installed the openni packages:
sudo apt-get install ros-groovy-openni-*
Plugged a Kinect device on a USB2.0 port
Launched openni:
roslaunch openni_launch openni.launch
openni_launch dies and complains about rosdep, recommends running: "sudo rosdep init" and "rosdep update". I do so.
- re-run "roslaunch openni_launch openni.launch". This time it seems to be SUCCESSFUL.
You would think that everything works, but we are not so lucky:
- Did rosrun rviz rviz. Try to visualize the topic /camera/depth_registered/points: Nothing appears. FAIL
- Did rostopic hz /camera/depth_registered/points: No response, apparently there is no messages being published on that topic. EPIC FAIL
- Did rosrun image_view image_view image:=/camera/rgb/image_raw: The image gets displayed, but in grayscale (WTF??). Well, at least there is communication with the device. PARTIAL SUCCESS
- Did rosrun rviz rviz. Try to visualize the topic /camera/depth/points: It works! SUCCESS
It looks like there is some kind of trouble with the RGB image and that is causing the /camera/depth_registered/points not being published.
Next I am going to test the device connected to a USB3.0 port. I will update the answer with the new findings.
[UPDATE]
Here is the new information:
- Connected a Kinect to USB3.0 port.
- Did roslaunch openni_launch openni.launch: Launches normally. SUCCESS
- Did rosrun rviz rviz. Try to visualize the topic /camera/depth_registered/points: Same issue as before. FAIL
- Did rosrun image_view image_view image:=/camera/rgb/image_raw: The image gets displayed, but in grayscale. Just like before. PARTIAL SUCCESS
- Did rosrun rviz rviz. Try to visualize the topic /camera/depth/points: It works. SUCCESS
So to sum up and answer this question:
Ubuntu 12.10 + groovy + openni + USB3.0 = partially works (there is issues with the color image and the color pointcloud)