Followup Issues for Port to VORC

[mabelzhang]

A meta-ticket of followup issues to #19. Applies to the vorc branch.

VORC essentials

• Add gymkhana task_config #21 and Fix Gymkhana topic names vorc#31: Need a new YAML file in task_config for the new gymkhana task
• In task_config, all trials > 0 need to have coordinates customized for VORC Clean up task_config #32 removes all trials > 0

Infrastructure

• Play back trial from within Docker container instead of host machine #26: Videos should be recorded from a window from server Docker playback.launch, as opposed to a window from the evaluator's host machine, which is likely on some arbitrary environment different from that in the server Docker.
  • Backport #26, #28, #30 from VORC to VRX #31: Backport to VRX in master branch
• Use colcon instead of catkin #23 and Repackage Python scripts to be able to install vrx#229: Fix https://github.com/osrf/vrx vrx_gazebo package setup to follow standard practices, so that the Python scripts for world generation can be used if vrx_gazebo is compiled with catkin_make --install as opposed to catkin_make. Currently they import from relative paths and cannot be used from outside the package.

Style

• This line in VRX competition evaluation

  vrx-docker/vrx_server/vrx-server/run_vrx_trial.sh

  Line 65 in 878f499

  roslaunch vrx_gazebo sandisland.launch gui:=false urdf:=$WAMV_URDF world:=$TRIAL_WORLD extra_gazebo_args:="-r --record_period ${RECORD_PERIOD} --record_path $HOME/.gazebo" verbose:=true non_competition_mode:=false > ~/verbose_output.txt 2>&1 &

  should really use a separate launch file in vrx_gazebo in https://github.com/osrf/vrx vrx_gazebo, as opposed to piggybacking on sandisland.launch, which is an entry-level example file and doesn't need all the complexity associated with the non_competition_mode Boolean.
• The non_competition_mode Boolean should be renamed to avoid the double-negative, especially in the launch file, where it is used like "unless non_competition_mode". This might be the flag that hides ROS topics with ground truths when the world runs in competition mode, so be mindful to not drop that feature.
• Look into why environment variable GAZEBO_MODEL_PATH needs to be set in the launch file with non_competition_mode Boolean. The parameter should really be <export>ed from package.xml and not need to be manually set.
• xacro files in generated/task_generated/*/world_xacros/ can use better indentation

[crvogt]

Modifying task_config

[mabelzhang]

Thanks! By the way I forgot to say I'm doing the gymkhana task in bullet 1. I'm assuming you're taking on bullet 2? I'll open a PR for gymkhana and maybe you could help with trial numbers > 0 for that one as well......? :D

[crvogt]

Of course! Sorry, I just noticed that both bullets say task_config XD Yes, I'm working on bullet 2. Definitely, happy to do the gymkhana ones > 0.