ABB YuMi MoveIt2 Configuration for ROS2 Jazzy

Complete MoveIt2 configuration for the ABB YuMi IRB 14000 dual-arm collaborative robot, tested on ROS2 Jazzy.

Overview

This repository provides a complete, production-ready MoveIt2 configuration for the ABB YuMi (IRB 14000) dual-arm collaborative robot. It includes:

• Complete MoveIt2 integration with OMPL motion planning
• Dual-arm motion planning with three planning groups: left_arm, right_arm, both_arms
• Custom RViz configuration with pre-configured MotionPlanning plugin
• Comprehensive collision matrix for safe dual-arm operation
• Fake controllers for simulation and testing
• Pre-configured home positions for reliable initialization

Features

Motion Planning

• ✅ OMPL planning pipeline with multiple algorithms (RRTConnect, RRTstar, PRM, etc.)
• ✅ KDL kinematics solver for each arm (7-DOF)
• ✅ Time-optimal trajectory parameterization
• ✅ Collision-aware planning with extensive self-collision avoidance
• ✅ Individual and coordinated dual-arm planning

Robot Configuration

• ✅ Complete URDF with accurate kinematics
• ✅ Semantic robot description (SRDF) with planning groups
• ✅ Joint limits and velocity constraints
• ✅ Properly configured end effectors (grippers)
• ✅ Fixed frame: world → yumi_base_link

Simulation & Visualization

• ✅ Fake trajectory controllers for testing without hardware
• ✅ Custom RViz config optimized for dual-arm manipulation
• ✅ Real-time trajectory visualization
• ✅ Interactive marker-based pose planning

Prerequisites

• ROS2 Jazzy (Ubuntu 24.04 recommended)
• MoveIt2 (jazzy distribution)
• colcon build tools

Installation

1. Create workspace and clone

mkdir -p ~/yumi_ws/src
cd ~/yumi_ws/src

# Clone this repository
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/yumi_moveit2.git

# Clone YuMi description (upstream)
git clone https://github.com/kth-ros-pkg/yumi.git

2. Install dependencies

cd ~/yumi_ws
rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y

3. Build

colcon build --symlink-install
source install/setup.bash

Quick Start

Launch MoveIt Demo

ros2 launch yumi_moveit_config demo.launch.py

This launches:

• MoveGroup node with OMPL planning
• RViz with MotionPlanning plugin
• Fake trajectory controllers
• Robot state publisher

Using RViz for Motion Planning

1. Select Planning Group

   • In RViz MotionPlanning panel, choose:
     • left_arm - Control left arm only
     • right_arm - Control right arm only
     • both_arms - Coordinated dual-arm control

2. Plan Motion

   • Drag interactive markers to set goal pose
   • Click "Plan" to generate trajectory
   • Click "Execute" to run on fake controllers
   • Click "Plan & Execute" for one-step operation

3. Change Planning Algorithm

   • In MotionPlanning panel → Planning tab
   • Select from: RRTConnect, RRTstar, PRM, TRRT, etc.

Package Structure

yumi_moveit2/
├── yumi_description/          # Robot model (from upstream)
│   ├── urdf/
│   │   └── yumi.urdf         # Main robot description
│   └── meshes/               # Visual and collision meshes
│
└── yumi_moveit_config/        # MoveIt configuration
    ├── config/
    │   ├── yumi.srdf                  # Semantic robot description
    │   ├── kinematics.yaml            # KDL solver config
    │   ├── joint_limits.yaml          # Joint constraints
    │   ├── moveit_controllers.yaml    # Controller config
    │   ├── ompl_planning.yaml         # OMPL planner config
    │   └── moveit.rviz                # Custom RViz config
    │
    ├── launch/
    │   └── demo.launch.py             # Main demo launcher
    │
    ├── package.xml
    └── CMakeLists.txt

Configuration Details

Planning Groups

The configuration defines three planning groups:

1. left_arm (7-DOF)

• Joints: yumi_joint_1_l through yumi_joint_7_l
• End effector: gripper_l_base
• KDL kinematics solver

2. right_arm (7-DOF)

• Joints: yumi_joint_1_r through yumi_joint_7_r
• End effector: gripper_r_base
• KDL kinematics solver

3. both_arms (14-DOF)

• Includes both left and right arm groups
• No IK solver (plan each arm separately)
• Coordinated motion planning

Home Positions

Pre-configured safe home positions for each arm:

left_arm home:
  joint_1_l: 0.0
  joint_2_l: -2.2689 rad (-130°)
  joint_3_l: 0.0
  joint_4_l: 0.5236 rad (30°)
  joint_5_l: 0.0
  joint_6_l: 0.6981 rad (40°)
  joint_7_l: 2.3562 rad (135°)

right_arm home:
  joint_1_r: 0.0
  joint_2_r: -2.2689 rad (-130°)
  joint_3_r: 0.0
  joint_4_r: 0.5236 rad (30°)
  joint_5_r: 0.0
  joint_6_r: 0.6981 rad (40°)
  joint_7_r: -2.3562 rad (-135°)

Collision Avoidance

Comprehensive collision matrix with:

• Adjacent link pairs disabled (parent-child joints)
• Gripper internal collisions disabled (fingers, base)
• Cross-arm collisions carefully configured to prevent false positives
• Self-collision checking enabled for workspace validation

Key disabled collision pairs:

• All gripper internal parts (base ↔ fingers)
• Cross-arm gripper interactions (never physically possible)
• Remote link pairs that cannot collide

Supported OMPL Planners

Available planning algorithms:

Planner	Type	Best For
RRTConnect	Sampling	General purpose (default)
RRTstar	Optimal	Path optimization
PRM	Roadmap	Multi-query scenarios
PRMstar	Optimal roadmap	Quality multi-query
TRRT	Transition-based	Cost-aware planning
SBL	Bidirectional	Simple scenarios
EST	Sampling	Exploration

Configure in RViz or programmatically in motion planning requests.

Customization

Modify Joint Limits

Edit config/joint_limits.yaml:

joint_limits:
  yumi_joint_1_l:
    has_velocity_limits: true
    max_velocity: 2.618  # rad/s
    has_acceleration_limits: false

Adjust Planning Parameters

Edit config/ompl_planning.yaml:

left_arm:
  planner_configs:
    - RRTConnectkConfigDefault
  longest_valid_segment_fraction: 0.005  # Motion discretization

Change Kinematics Solver

Edit config/kinematics.yaml:

left_arm:
  kinematics_solver: kdl_kinematics_plugin/KDLKinematicsPlugin
  kinematics_solver_search_resolution: 0.005
  kinematics_solver_timeout: 0.05

Integration with Real Hardware

To use with real YuMi hardware:

1. Replace fake controllers with real hardware interface
2. Update config/moveit_controllers.yaml
3. Configure proper controller action servers
4. Ensure proper EtherCAT or network connection

Refer to ABB YuMi ROS2 driver documentation for hardware setup.

Troubleshooting

Issue: "Planning plugin not loaded"

Solution: Ensure OMPL planning library is installed:

sudo apt install ros-jazzy-moveit-planners-ompl

Issue: "Collision detected in start state"

Solution: Robot may be starting in self-collision. Check:

1. Home position is valid
2. Collision matrix properly configured
3. Joint states are being published

Issue: "Motion plan validation failed"

Solution:

1. Check collision matrix in SRDF
2. Verify trajectory doesn't pass through singularities
3. Adjust longest_valid_segment_fraction for finer discretization

Issue: RViz not loading properly

Solution:

# Clear RViz config cache
rm -rf ~/.rviz2/
# Relaunch
ros2 launch yumi_moveit_config demo.launch.py

Performance Tips

1. Planning Time

   • RRTConnect: Fast, good for most cases
   • RRTstar: Slower but better paths
   • Adjust timeout in planning requests

2. Trajectory Quality

   • Enable time parameterization (already configured)
   • Increase planning attempts for better solutions
   • Use smoothing post-processing

3. Dual-Arm Coordination

   • Plan each arm separately then validate
   • Use both_arms group for coordinated constraints
   • Consider sequential planning for complex tasks

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Test thoroughly with demo launch
4. Submit pull request with clear description

License

BSD-3-Clause License

Copyright (c) 2024

Acknowledgments

• ABB for the YuMi robot platform
• KTH Royal Institute of Technology for upstream YuMi ROS packages
• MoveIt2 community for the excellent motion planning framework

References

• ABB YuMi Product Page
• MoveIt2 Documentation
• ROS2 Jazzy Documentation
• OMPL Documentation

Support

For issues and questions:

• GitHub Issues: Report a bug
• MoveIt Discourse: Ask the community

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Tested on: ROS2 Jazzy, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Last Updated: December 2024