Read Point Cloud

Extract point cloud from ROS 2 PointCloud2 message

Since R2021b

• 

Libraries:
ROS Toolbox / ROS 2

Description

The Read Point Cloud block extracts a point cloud from a ROS 2 sensor_msgs/PointCloud2 message. You can select the message parameters of a topic active on a live ROS 2 network, or specify the message parameters separately. The ROS 2 messages are specified as a nonvirtual bus. Use the Subscribe block to receive a message from a ROS 2 network and input the message to the Read Point Cloud block.

Note

When reading ROS 2 point cloud messages from the network, the Data property of the message can exceed the maximum array length set in Simulink^®. Follow the steps below to increase the maximum array length for all message types in the model:

1. Enable ROS options by selecting the Robot Operating System (ROS) app under the Apps tab and configure the ROS network parameters appropriately.

2. From the Prepare section under Simulation tab, select ROS Toolbox > Variable Size Messages.

3. Uncheck Use default limits for this message type and then in the Maximum length column, increase the length based on the number of points in the point cloud.

Examples

Read ROS 2 Point Cloud Messages In Simulink® and Perform Stitching using Registration

Read ROS 2 PointCloud2 messages into Simulink and reconstruct a 3-D scene by combining multiple point clouds using NDT algorithm.

• Open Live Script

Ports

Input

Msg — ROS 2 sensor_msgs/PointCloud2 message

nonvirtual bus

ROS 2 sensor_msgs/PointCloud2 message, specified as a nonvirtual bus. You can use the Subscribe block to get a message from the ROS 2 network.

Data Types: bus

Output

XYZ — XYZ coordinates

matrix | array

x-, y-, and z- coordinates of each point in the point cloud data, returned as either an N-by-3 matrix or h-by-w-by-3 array. N is the number of points in the point cloud. h and w are the height and width of the image, in pixels. To get the x-, y-, and z- coordinates as an array, select the Preserve point cloud structure parameter.

Data Types: single

RGB — RGB values for each point

matrix | array

RGB values for each point of the point cloud data, output as either an N-by-3 matrix or h-by-w-by-3 array. N is the number of points in the point cloud. h and w are the height and width of the image in pixels. The RGB values specify the red, green, and blue color intensities in the range of [0,1].To return the RGB values as an array, select the Preserve point cloud structure parameter.

Dependencies

Enable Show RGB output port parameter.

Data Types: double

Intensity — Intensity values for each point

array | matrix

Intensity value for each point of the point cloud data, returned as either an array or a h-by-w matrix. h and w are the height and width of the image in pixels. To return the intensity values as a matrix, select the Preserve point cloud structure parameter.

Dependencies

Enable Show Intensity output port parameter.

Data Types: single

ErrorCode — Error code for image conversion

scalar

Error code for image conversion, returned as a scalar. The error code values are:

• 0 – Successfully converted the point cloud message.

• 1 – The dimensions of the incoming point cloud exceed the limits set in the Maximum point cloud size parameter.

• 2 – One of the variable-length arrays in the incoming message was truncated. For more information on increasing the maximum length of the array, see Manage Array Sizes for ROS Messages in Simulink.

• 3 – The X, Y, or Z field of the point cloud message is missing.

• 4 – The point cloud does not contain any RGB color data. This error only occurs if you enable the Show RGB output port parameter.

• 5 – The point cloud does not contain any intensity data. This error only occurs if you enable the Show Intensity output port parameter.

For certain error codes, the block truncates the data or populates with NaN values where appropriate.

Data Types: uint8

Parameters

Maximum point cloud size — Maximum point cloud image size

[480 640] (default) | two-element vector

Maximum point cloud image size, specified as a two-element [height width] vector.

Select Configure using ROS 2... to set this parameter automatically using an active topic on a ROS 2 network. You must be connected to the ROS 2 network.

Preserve point cloud structure — Point cloud data output shape preservation

off (default) | on

When this parameter is selected, the block preserves the point cloud data output shape for XYZ, RGB, and Intensity outputs. Each output corresponds to the resolution of the original image. The XYZ and RGB outputs become multidimensional arrays, and the Intensity output becomes a matrix.

Show RGB output port — RGB port toggle

off (default) | on

Select this parameter to enable the RGB port. If you enable this parameter, the message must contain RGB data or the block returns an error code.

Show Intensity output port — Intensity port toggle

off (default) | on

Select this parameter to enable the Intensity port. If you enable this parameter, the message must contain intensity data or the block returns an error code.

Show ErrorCode output port — ErrorCode port toggle

on (default) | off

Select this parameter to enable the ErrorCode port and monitor errors.

Output variable-size signals — Variable-size signal output toggle

off (default) | on

Toggle whether to output a variable-size signal. Use variable-sized signals only if you expect the image size to change over time. For more information about variable-size signals, see Variable-Size Signal Basics (Simulink).

Extended Capabilities

C/C++ Code Generation
Generate C and C++ code using Simulink® Coder™.

Version History

Introduced in R2021b