ROS2 Wrapper: PID Controller node hangs/fails to receive odometry due to frame mismatch (odom_local vs odom_local_ned)

[GiacomoVianello-1]

Description

Hi there!

I am experiencing an issue with the ROS2 wrapper for CoSysAirSim where my PID controller node is unable to proceed, likely due to a discrepancy in the odometry frame conventions.

Steps to Reproduce

1. In the first terminal, I launch the AirSim node with API control enabled and the drone armed: ros2 launch airsim_ros_pkgs airsim_node.launch.py
2. In a second terminal, I launch the PID controller node: ros2 launch airsim_ros_pkgs position_controller_simple.launch.py

Observed Behavior

The PID node starts but hangs at the following point:

[INFO] [pd_position_controller_simple_node-1]: process started with pid [371863]
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [INFO] [1775551985.938303977] [pid_position_node]: Waiting vehicle name
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [ERROR] [1775551985.952258845] [pid_position_node]: Waiting for odometry!
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [ERROR] [1775551985.962259550] [pid_position_node]: Waiting for odometry!
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [ERROR] [1775551985.972239567] [pid_position_node]: Waiting for odometry!
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [ERROR] [1775551985.982238287] [pid_position_node]: Waiting for odometry!
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [ERROR] [1775551985.992263646] [pid_position_node]: Waiting for odometry!
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [ERROR] [1775551986.002257162] [pid_position_node]: Waiting for odometry!
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [ERROR] [1775551986.012218244] [pid_position_node]: Waiting for odometry!
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [ERROR] [1775551986.022239961] [pid_position_node]: Waiting for odometry!
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [ERROR] [1775551986.032213914] [pid_position_node]: Waiting for odometry!
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [ERROR] [1775551986.042217901] [pid_position_node]: Waiting for odometry!
[pd_position_controller_simple_node-1] [ERROR] [1775551986.052214212] [pid_position_node]: Waiting for odometry!
...

Analysis & Attempts to Fix

I noticed a mismatch in the published/subscribed topics:

airsim_node publishes to: /airsim_node/drone_1/odom_local

pid_controller expects: /airsim_node/drone_1/odom_local_ned

I attempted to resolve this by remapping the topics in the launch file or using ros2 run --remapping, but the issue persists. It seems that simply changing the topic name isn't enough, suggesting there might be a deeper issue with how the frames are handled or how the tf2 transform tree is being broadcasted between the NED and ENU conventions.

Environment

• OS: Ubuntu 22.04
• ROS2 Distro: Humble
• UE Version: 5.5.3
• Settings.json:

  {
    "SettingsVersion": 2.0,
    "SimMode": "Multirotor",
    "ClockType": "",
    "ClockSpeed": 1,
    "ViewMode": "NoDisplay",
    "CameraDirector": {
      "FollowDistance": -1.5,
      "Position": {
        "X": -1.5,
        "Y": 0,
        "Z": -1
      }
    },
    "Vehicles": {
      "Drone1": {
        "VehicleType": "SimpleFlight",
        "AutoCreate": true,
        "DefaultVehicleState": "Disarmed",
        "Cameras": {
          "bottom_center": {
            "X": 0.15, "Y": 0, "Z": 0.15,
            "Pitch": 0, "Roll": 0, "Yaw": 0,
            "CaptureSettings": [
              {
                "ImageType": 0, 
                "Width": 1280,
                "Height": 720,
                "FOV_Degrees": 69.0,
                "TargetGamma": 2.2,
                "MotionBlurAmount": 0
              },
              {
                "ImageType": 1,
                "Width": 1280,
                "Height": 720,
                "FOV_Degrees": 87.0,
                "AutoExposureMaxBrightness": 0.64,
                "AutoExposureMinBrightness": 0.03
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      }
    },
    "SubWindows": [
      {
        "WindowID": 0,
        "ImageType": 0,
        "CameraName": "bottom_center",
        "VehicleName": "",
        "Visible": false
      },
      {
        "WindowID": 2,
        "ImageType": 3,
        "CameraName": "bottom_center",
        "VehicleName": "",
        "Visible": false
      }
    ]
  }
  

Thank you for your help!