Release Notes#

Click each tab to learn about the new and updated features in each release of Intel® Robot Vision & Control Framework.

RVC v2.1 release includes bug and security updates as well as Intel Lab’s Histodepth Pointcloud Segmentation algorithm in a Virtual Fence application.

  • Intel Lab’s Histodepth Pointcloud Segmentation Virtual Fence: Now part of the RVC package, this virtual fence application running on ROS uses depth information from an Intel RealSense camera to create dynamic and static scene segmentation maps to enable live robotic virtual fencing and safety bounding. The use of this segmentation algorithm enables a drop-in approach to virtual fencing, requiring no training or learning before deployment.

Features

  • New dynamic path planning algorithm available (Dobby path planner available under NDA - contact eci.maintainer@intel.com for details).

  • New dynamic virtual fencing algorithm available.

Known Limitations and Issues

RVC v2.0 provides a SW framework to control a robot based on vision based object detection. It’s a collection of SW components that can be deployed provided a debian packages. But it is expected to be customized, hardened, optimized and extended by customers before it’s used as a final product.

RVC focuses on demonstrating consolidation of the following functionalities:

  • Camera input

  • Vision based object classification and 3D pose detection.

  • Trajectory calculation to detected object pose.

  • Robot control

Features

  • Defined API between vision and control.

  • 3D detection and 3D pose detection components.

  • 2.5D detection and pose detection components.

  • Control of ROS2 supporting Robots.

  • Control of ROS2 not supported robots (example implementation for UR5).

  • Simple static and dynamic use case example.

Known Limitations and Issues

Debian packages:

Package

Deb Package

Description

gui-settings

ros-humble-gui-settings_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Custom message for GUI to RVC communication Package.

moveit2-servo-motion-controller

ros-humble-moveit2-servo-motion-controller_1.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

RVC Motion controller interface-based plugin implemented using moveit2 servo.

non-oriented-grasp

ros-humble-non-oriented-grasp_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Non oriented grasp plugin.

openvino-inference-plugin

ros-humble-openvino-inference-plugin_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

RVC AI interface-based Plugin implementing yolo V5, v6 and V8 using openvino inferencing.

oriented-grasp

ros-humble-oriented-grasp_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Non oriented grasp plugin.

robotiq-controllers

ros-humble-robotiq-controllers_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Provides controllers for robotiq 2f gripper.

robotiq-driver-plugin

ros-humble-robotiq-driver-plugin_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Robotiq 2f driver.

rvc-ai-interface

ros-humble-rvc-ai-interface_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Interface every 2.5D AI plugin shall inmplement.

rvc-dynamic-motion-controller-use-case

ros-humble-rvc-dynamic-motion-controller-use-case_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Main package for RVC motion controller.

rvc-grasp-interface

ros-humble-rvc-grasp-interface_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Pluginlib interface that a pose to grasp plugin has to implement.

rvc-messages

ros-humble-rvc-messages_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

RVC vision interface messages.

rvc-motion-controller-interface

ros-humble-rvc-motion-controller-interface_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Interface defining how motion controller plugins shall be implemented.

rvc-object-detection-engine

ros-humble-rvc-object-detection-engine_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

AI inference pipeling Stage 1 object detection engine, plugin based to allow different AI models, and devices.

rvc-packages-all

ros-humble-rvc-packages-all_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Metapackage aggreating all RVC packages.

rvc-panel-rviz2-plugin

ros-humble-rvc-panel-rviz2-plugin_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

RVC controls for RViz.

rvc-pose-detector

ros-humble-rvc-pose-detector_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

AI pose alignment stage Package.

rvc-profiler

ros-humble-rvc-profiler_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Node to gather various statistics of RVC.

rvc-rotated-object-detection

ros-humble-rvc-rotated-object-detection_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Rotated object detection using ORB features.

rvc-static-motion-controller-use-case

ros-humble-rvc-static-motion-controller-use-case_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Main package for RVC motion controller.

rvc-vision-main

ros-humble-rvc-vision-main_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Start up and configuration files for the whole vision component.

rvc-vision-messages

ros-humble-rvc-vision-messages_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Custom message between AI and motion controller.

state-machine-msgs

ros-humble-state-machine-msgs_2.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Custom message for state machines communication Package.

trac-ik-kinematics-plugin

ros-humble-trac-ik-kinematics-plugin_1.6.6jammy_amd64.deb

A MoveIt! Kinematics plugin using TRAC-IK.

trac-ik-lib

ros-humble-trac-ik-lib_0.1.0jammy_amd64.deb

TRAC-IK is a faster, significantly more reliable drop-in replacement for KDL’s pseudoinverse Jacobian solver.

ur-pendant-motion-controller

ros-humble-ur-pendant-motion-controller_1.0.0jammy_amd64.deb

Direct Universal Robot pendant controller.

Initial release of Robot Vision & Control Framework (RVC). RVC allows closed loop automatic object recognition and robot manipulation of a set of moving objects.

Features

  • Six Degree of Freedom (6DoF) real-time object detection

  • Manipulator dynamic tracking, that is, robot adjusts trajectory towards target in real-time

Known Limitations and Issues

  • The object set must be known prior, that is, the objects need to be present on file system in the pointcloud format, matching the real objects

  • Camera position must be accurate by either adjusting the camera in a particular position or changing the position in a configuration file

  • Only the Universal Robots™ family has been tested (more specifically, UR5e), the Robotiq 2F-85 Gripper and D415 Intel® RealSense™ Camera.

  • Only one object can be placed under the camera. Multiple objects could work, however there are known issues. For this release, make sure that there is only one object under the camera or none.