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Trajectory Visualizer#

This tool allow the visualization of Autoware trajectory messages (autoware_planning_msgs::msg::Trajectory).

How to use visualizer.py#

  1. Source an Autoware workspace: the workspace needs to contain the autoware_planning_msgs package.

  2. Run the script:

    python visualizer.py

  3. A window will pop up: This window will be used to visualize trajectories.

  4. Choose what to plot:

    • X-axis and Y-axis: Use the dropdown menus at the top left to select what data you want on the X and Y axes of the graph (e.g., "Time" vs. "Velocity").
    • Topics: The list in the middle left shows available trajectory topics. Check the boxes to select which trajectories you want to see on the plot.
    • Refresh List: Press the "Refresh List" button to update the list of available topics. This is useful if new trajectory data becomes available.

  5. See the plot: The right side of the window shows the plot of the selected trajectory data.

Code structure#

  • visualizer.py: This is the main script that starts the visualizer. It sets up the ROS 2 connection and the graphical interface.
  • gui.py: This file creates the graphical user interface (GUI) using Tkinter. It handles the buttons, dropdown menus, lists, and the plot area.
  • plotter.py: This file uses Matplotlib to create the plots. It draws the trajectory data on the graph.
  • ros2_interface.py: This file handles the communication with ROS 2. It gets the trajectory data from ROS 2 topics.
  • trajectory_data.py: This file calculates different properties of the trajectory, like velocity, curvature, etc. It provides the data that can be plotted.

How to add new properties to plot#

  1. Open trajectory_data.py.
  2. Write a new function taking a Trajectory object as input and returning a list of values (one for each point in the trajectory).
  3. Add your function to the dictionary returned by get_data_functions(). The key should be a string that describes the property (this is what will show up in the dropdown menu in the GUI) and the value should be the function you created.