potential_fields_interfaces

`potential_fields_interfaces`

ROS 2 message and service definitions for the potential_fields package. All nodes in this repository communicate using these types.

Messages

`Obstacle.msg`

Describes a single obstacle in the potential field environment.

Field	Type	Used by	Description
`frame_id`	`string`	all	Unique identifier for this obstacle (e.g. `"wall_1"`)
`type`	`string`	all	Shape: `"Sphere"`, `"Box"`, `"Cylinder"`, `"Ellipsoid"`, `"Capsule"`, or `"Mesh"`
`group`	`string`	all	Class: `"Static"`, `"Dynamic"`, or `"Robot"`
`pose`	`geometry_msgs/Pose`	all	World-frame center position and orientation
`radius`	`float32`	Sphere, Cylinder, Capsule	Radius of the shape
`height`	`float32`	Box, Cylinder, Capsule	Height / full extent along Z
`length`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along X
`width`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along Y
`semi_x`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along X
`semi_y`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Y
`semi_z`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Z
`mesh_resource`	`string`	Mesh	URI to mesh file (e.g. `package://my_robot/meshes/link.dae`)
`scale_x/y/z`	`float32`	Mesh	Per-axis mesh scale

`ObstacleArray.msg`

A stamped array of Obstacle messages, published to pfield/obstacles.

Field	Type	Description
`header`	`std_msgs/Header`	Timestamp and frame
`obstacles`	`Obstacle[]`	List of obstacles

CLI examples — one per shape type

# Sphere (radius = 0.1 m)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ball', type: 'Sphere', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.4, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.1
  }]
}"

# Box (15 cm × 70 cm × 60 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'table', type: 'Box', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.66, y: 0.0, z: 0.3}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    length: 0.15, width: 0.7, height: 0.6
  }]
}"

# Cylinder (radius = 9 cm, height = 30 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'pitcher', type: 'Cylinder', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.51, y: 0.0, z: 0.15}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.09, height: 0.3
  }]
}"

# Ellipsoid (semi-axes 8 cm × 5 cm × 12 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ellipsoid_obs', type: 'Ellipsoid', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.1, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    semi_x: 0.08, semi_y: 0.05, semi_z: 0.12
  }]
}"

# Capsule (radius = 5 cm, shaft length = 20 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'capsule_obs', type: 'Capsule', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.45, y: 0.0, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.05, height: 0.2
  }]
}"

# Mesh
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'mesh_obs', type: 'Mesh', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    mesh_resource: 'package://my_robot_description/meshes/obstacle.dae',
    scale_x: 1.0, scale_y: 1.0, scale_z: 1.0
  }]
}"

Services

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_interfaces

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

Clarified Obstacle type's geometry fields
New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
December Final Demos (#26)
Use Robot Dynamics to convert Joint Torques to Joint Velocities (#24)
Updating ComputeAutonomyVector
Collision Avoidance between robot links and environment obstacles (#21)
Merge branch 'main' of github.com:argallab/pfields_2025
Merged RobotParser into PFieldManager (#10)
PlanPath Service Demo (#7)
Planning "World" for path-planning with robot (#6)
Motion Interface (#5)
Update license to Apache 2.0
Updating email to northwestern email for packages
Custom service to plan path in PF
Merge pull request #4 from argallab/demo-package Example Package
Created robot parser node to listen for the transforms and parse the URDF collision objects
Created an interfaces package
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	rosidl_default_generators
	ament_cmake
	rosidl_default_runtime
	ament_lint_auto
	ament_lint_common
	ament_cmake_copyright
	std_msgs
	geometry_msgs
	nav_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	builtin_interfaces

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

Name	Deps
potential_fields
potential_fields_demos

Launch files

No launch files found

Messages

Services

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_interfaces` at Robotics Stack Exchange

potential_fields_interfaces package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Description
Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Custom Messages and Services for potential_fields package

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_interfaces`

ROS 2 message and service definitions for the potential_fields package. All nodes in this repository communicate using these types.

Messages

`Obstacle.msg`

Describes a single obstacle in the potential field environment.

Field	Type	Used by	Description
`frame_id`	`string`	all	Unique identifier for this obstacle (e.g. `"wall_1"`)
`type`	`string`	all	Shape: `"Sphere"`, `"Box"`, `"Cylinder"`, `"Ellipsoid"`, `"Capsule"`, or `"Mesh"`
`group`	`string`	all	Class: `"Static"`, `"Dynamic"`, or `"Robot"`
`pose`	`geometry_msgs/Pose`	all	World-frame center position and orientation
`radius`	`float32`	Sphere, Cylinder, Capsule	Radius of the shape
`height`	`float32`	Box, Cylinder, Capsule	Height / full extent along Z
`length`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along X
`width`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along Y
`semi_x`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along X
`semi_y`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Y
`semi_z`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Z
`mesh_resource`	`string`	Mesh	URI to mesh file (e.g. `package://my_robot/meshes/link.dae`)
`scale_x/y/z`	`float32`	Mesh	Per-axis mesh scale

`ObstacleArray.msg`

A stamped array of Obstacle messages, published to pfield/obstacles.

Field	Type	Description
`header`	`std_msgs/Header`	Timestamp and frame
`obstacles`	`Obstacle[]`	List of obstacles

CLI examples — one per shape type

# Sphere (radius = 0.1 m)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ball', type: 'Sphere', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.4, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.1
  }]
}"

# Box (15 cm × 70 cm × 60 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'table', type: 'Box', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.66, y: 0.0, z: 0.3}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    length: 0.15, width: 0.7, height: 0.6
  }]
}"

# Cylinder (radius = 9 cm, height = 30 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'pitcher', type: 'Cylinder', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.51, y: 0.0, z: 0.15}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.09, height: 0.3
  }]
}"

# Ellipsoid (semi-axes 8 cm × 5 cm × 12 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ellipsoid_obs', type: 'Ellipsoid', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.1, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    semi_x: 0.08, semi_y: 0.05, semi_z: 0.12
  }]
}"

# Capsule (radius = 5 cm, shaft length = 20 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'capsule_obs', type: 'Capsule', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.45, y: 0.0, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.05, height: 0.2
  }]
}"

# Mesh
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'mesh_obs', type: 'Mesh', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    mesh_resource: 'package://my_robot_description/meshes/obstacle.dae',
    scale_x: 1.0, scale_y: 1.0, scale_z: 1.0
  }]
}"

Services

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_interfaces

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

Clarified Obstacle type's geometry fields
New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
December Final Demos (#26)
Use Robot Dynamics to convert Joint Torques to Joint Velocities (#24)
Updating ComputeAutonomyVector
Collision Avoidance between robot links and environment obstacles (#21)
Merge branch 'main' of github.com:argallab/pfields_2025
Merged RobotParser into PFieldManager (#10)
PlanPath Service Demo (#7)
Planning "World" for path-planning with robot (#6)
Motion Interface (#5)
Update license to Apache 2.0
Updating email to northwestern email for packages
Custom service to plan path in PF
Merge pull request #4 from argallab/demo-package Example Package
Created robot parser node to listen for the transforms and parse the URDF collision objects
Created an interfaces package
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	rosidl_default_generators
	ament_cmake
	rosidl_default_runtime
	ament_lint_auto
	ament_lint_common
	ament_cmake_copyright
	std_msgs
	geometry_msgs
	nav_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	builtin_interfaces

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

Name	Deps
potential_fields
potential_fields_demos

Launch files

No launch files found

Messages

Services

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_interfaces` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro kilted showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_interfaces package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Description
Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Custom Messages and Services for potential_fields package

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_interfaces`

ROS 2 message and service definitions for the potential_fields package. All nodes in this repository communicate using these types.

Messages

`Obstacle.msg`

Describes a single obstacle in the potential field environment.

Field	Type	Used by	Description
`frame_id`	`string`	all	Unique identifier for this obstacle (e.g. `"wall_1"`)
`type`	`string`	all	Shape: `"Sphere"`, `"Box"`, `"Cylinder"`, `"Ellipsoid"`, `"Capsule"`, or `"Mesh"`
`group`	`string`	all	Class: `"Static"`, `"Dynamic"`, or `"Robot"`
`pose`	`geometry_msgs/Pose`	all	World-frame center position and orientation
`radius`	`float32`	Sphere, Cylinder, Capsule	Radius of the shape
`height`	`float32`	Box, Cylinder, Capsule	Height / full extent along Z
`length`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along X
`width`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along Y
`semi_x`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along X
`semi_y`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Y
`semi_z`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Z
`mesh_resource`	`string`	Mesh	URI to mesh file (e.g. `package://my_robot/meshes/link.dae`)
`scale_x/y/z`	`float32`	Mesh	Per-axis mesh scale

`ObstacleArray.msg`

A stamped array of Obstacle messages, published to pfield/obstacles.

Field	Type	Description
`header`	`std_msgs/Header`	Timestamp and frame
`obstacles`	`Obstacle[]`	List of obstacles

CLI examples — one per shape type

# Sphere (radius = 0.1 m)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ball', type: 'Sphere', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.4, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.1
  }]
}"

# Box (15 cm × 70 cm × 60 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'table', type: 'Box', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.66, y: 0.0, z: 0.3}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    length: 0.15, width: 0.7, height: 0.6
  }]
}"

# Cylinder (radius = 9 cm, height = 30 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'pitcher', type: 'Cylinder', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.51, y: 0.0, z: 0.15}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.09, height: 0.3
  }]
}"

# Ellipsoid (semi-axes 8 cm × 5 cm × 12 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ellipsoid_obs', type: 'Ellipsoid', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.1, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    semi_x: 0.08, semi_y: 0.05, semi_z: 0.12
  }]
}"

# Capsule (radius = 5 cm, shaft length = 20 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'capsule_obs', type: 'Capsule', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.45, y: 0.0, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.05, height: 0.2
  }]
}"

# Mesh
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'mesh_obs', type: 'Mesh', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    mesh_resource: 'package://my_robot_description/meshes/obstacle.dae',
    scale_x: 1.0, scale_y: 1.0, scale_z: 1.0
  }]
}"

Services

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_interfaces

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

Clarified Obstacle type's geometry fields
New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
December Final Demos (#26)
Use Robot Dynamics to convert Joint Torques to Joint Velocities (#24)
Updating ComputeAutonomyVector
Collision Avoidance between robot links and environment obstacles (#21)
Merge branch 'main' of github.com:argallab/pfields_2025
Merged RobotParser into PFieldManager (#10)
PlanPath Service Demo (#7)
Planning "World" for path-planning with robot (#6)
Motion Interface (#5)
Update license to Apache 2.0
Updating email to northwestern email for packages
Custom service to plan path in PF
Merge pull request #4 from argallab/demo-package Example Package
Created robot parser node to listen for the transforms and parse the URDF collision objects
Created an interfaces package
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	rosidl_default_generators
	ament_cmake
	rosidl_default_runtime
	ament_lint_auto
	ament_lint_common
	ament_cmake_copyright
	std_msgs
	geometry_msgs
	nav_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	builtin_interfaces

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

Name	Deps
potential_fields
potential_fields_demos

Launch files

No launch files found

Messages

Services

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_interfaces` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro rolling showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_interfaces package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Description
Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Custom Messages and Services for potential_fields package

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_interfaces`

ROS 2 message and service definitions for the potential_fields package. All nodes in this repository communicate using these types.

Messages

`Obstacle.msg`

Describes a single obstacle in the potential field environment.

Field	Type	Used by	Description
`frame_id`	`string`	all	Unique identifier for this obstacle (e.g. `"wall_1"`)
`type`	`string`	all	Shape: `"Sphere"`, `"Box"`, `"Cylinder"`, `"Ellipsoid"`, `"Capsule"`, or `"Mesh"`
`group`	`string`	all	Class: `"Static"`, `"Dynamic"`, or `"Robot"`
`pose`	`geometry_msgs/Pose`	all	World-frame center position and orientation
`radius`	`float32`	Sphere, Cylinder, Capsule	Radius of the shape
`height`	`float32`	Box, Cylinder, Capsule	Height / full extent along Z
`length`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along X
`width`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along Y
`semi_x`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along X
`semi_y`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Y
`semi_z`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Z
`mesh_resource`	`string`	Mesh	URI to mesh file (e.g. `package://my_robot/meshes/link.dae`)
`scale_x/y/z`	`float32`	Mesh	Per-axis mesh scale

`ObstacleArray.msg`

A stamped array of Obstacle messages, published to pfield/obstacles.

Field	Type	Description
`header`	`std_msgs/Header`	Timestamp and frame
`obstacles`	`Obstacle[]`	List of obstacles

CLI examples — one per shape type

# Sphere (radius = 0.1 m)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ball', type: 'Sphere', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.4, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.1
  }]
}"

# Box (15 cm × 70 cm × 60 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'table', type: 'Box', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.66, y: 0.0, z: 0.3}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    length: 0.15, width: 0.7, height: 0.6
  }]
}"

# Cylinder (radius = 9 cm, height = 30 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'pitcher', type: 'Cylinder', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.51, y: 0.0, z: 0.15}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.09, height: 0.3
  }]
}"

# Ellipsoid (semi-axes 8 cm × 5 cm × 12 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ellipsoid_obs', type: 'Ellipsoid', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.1, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    semi_x: 0.08, semi_y: 0.05, semi_z: 0.12
  }]
}"

# Capsule (radius = 5 cm, shaft length = 20 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'capsule_obs', type: 'Capsule', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.45, y: 0.0, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.05, height: 0.2
  }]
}"

# Mesh
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'mesh_obs', type: 'Mesh', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    mesh_resource: 'package://my_robot_description/meshes/obstacle.dae',
    scale_x: 1.0, scale_y: 1.0, scale_z: 1.0
  }]
}"

Services

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_interfaces

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

Clarified Obstacle type's geometry fields
New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
December Final Demos (#26)
Use Robot Dynamics to convert Joint Torques to Joint Velocities (#24)
Updating ComputeAutonomyVector
Collision Avoidance between robot links and environment obstacles (#21)
Merge branch 'main' of github.com:argallab/pfields_2025
Merged RobotParser into PFieldManager (#10)
PlanPath Service Demo (#7)
Planning "World" for path-planning with robot (#6)
Motion Interface (#5)
Update license to Apache 2.0
Updating email to northwestern email for packages
Custom service to plan path in PF
Merge pull request #4 from argallab/demo-package Example Package
Created robot parser node to listen for the transforms and parse the URDF collision objects
Created an interfaces package
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	rosidl_default_generators
	ament_cmake
	rosidl_default_runtime
	ament_lint_auto
	ament_lint_common
	ament_cmake_copyright
	std_msgs
	geometry_msgs
	nav_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	builtin_interfaces

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

Name	Deps
potential_fields
potential_fields_demos

Launch files

No launch files found

Messages

Services

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_interfaces` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro github showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_interfaces package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Description
Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Custom Messages and Services for potential_fields package

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_interfaces`

ROS 2 message and service definitions for the potential_fields package. All nodes in this repository communicate using these types.

Messages

`Obstacle.msg`

Describes a single obstacle in the potential field environment.

Field	Type	Used by	Description
`frame_id`	`string`	all	Unique identifier for this obstacle (e.g. `"wall_1"`)
`type`	`string`	all	Shape: `"Sphere"`, `"Box"`, `"Cylinder"`, `"Ellipsoid"`, `"Capsule"`, or `"Mesh"`
`group`	`string`	all	Class: `"Static"`, `"Dynamic"`, or `"Robot"`
`pose`	`geometry_msgs/Pose`	all	World-frame center position and orientation
`radius`	`float32`	Sphere, Cylinder, Capsule	Radius of the shape
`height`	`float32`	Box, Cylinder, Capsule	Height / full extent along Z
`length`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along X
`width`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along Y
`semi_x`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along X
`semi_y`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Y
`semi_z`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Z
`mesh_resource`	`string`	Mesh	URI to mesh file (e.g. `package://my_robot/meshes/link.dae`)
`scale_x/y/z`	`float32`	Mesh	Per-axis mesh scale

`ObstacleArray.msg`

A stamped array of Obstacle messages, published to pfield/obstacles.

Field	Type	Description
`header`	`std_msgs/Header`	Timestamp and frame
`obstacles`	`Obstacle[]`	List of obstacles

CLI examples — one per shape type

# Sphere (radius = 0.1 m)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ball', type: 'Sphere', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.4, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.1
  }]
}"

# Box (15 cm × 70 cm × 60 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'table', type: 'Box', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.66, y: 0.0, z: 0.3}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    length: 0.15, width: 0.7, height: 0.6
  }]
}"

# Cylinder (radius = 9 cm, height = 30 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'pitcher', type: 'Cylinder', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.51, y: 0.0, z: 0.15}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.09, height: 0.3
  }]
}"

# Ellipsoid (semi-axes 8 cm × 5 cm × 12 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ellipsoid_obs', type: 'Ellipsoid', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.1, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    semi_x: 0.08, semi_y: 0.05, semi_z: 0.12
  }]
}"

# Capsule (radius = 5 cm, shaft length = 20 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'capsule_obs', type: 'Capsule', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.45, y: 0.0, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.05, height: 0.2
  }]
}"

# Mesh
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'mesh_obs', type: 'Mesh', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    mesh_resource: 'package://my_robot_description/meshes/obstacle.dae',
    scale_x: 1.0, scale_y: 1.0, scale_z: 1.0
  }]
}"

Services

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_interfaces

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

Clarified Obstacle type's geometry fields
New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
December Final Demos (#26)
Use Robot Dynamics to convert Joint Torques to Joint Velocities (#24)
Updating ComputeAutonomyVector
Collision Avoidance between robot links and environment obstacles (#21)
Merge branch 'main' of github.com:argallab/pfields_2025
Merged RobotParser into PFieldManager (#10)
PlanPath Service Demo (#7)
Planning "World" for path-planning with robot (#6)
Motion Interface (#5)
Update license to Apache 2.0
Updating email to northwestern email for packages
Custom service to plan path in PF
Merge pull request #4 from argallab/demo-package Example Package
Created robot parser node to listen for the transforms and parse the URDF collision objects
Created an interfaces package
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	rosidl_default_generators
	ament_cmake
	rosidl_default_runtime
	ament_lint_auto
	ament_lint_common
	ament_cmake_copyright
	std_msgs
	geometry_msgs
	nav_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	builtin_interfaces

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

Name	Deps
potential_fields
potential_fields_demos

Launch files

No launch files found

Messages

Services

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_interfaces` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro galactic showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_interfaces package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Description
Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Custom Messages and Services for potential_fields package

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_interfaces`

ROS 2 message and service definitions for the potential_fields package. All nodes in this repository communicate using these types.

Messages

`Obstacle.msg`

Describes a single obstacle in the potential field environment.

Field	Type	Used by	Description
`frame_id`	`string`	all	Unique identifier for this obstacle (e.g. `"wall_1"`)
`type`	`string`	all	Shape: `"Sphere"`, `"Box"`, `"Cylinder"`, `"Ellipsoid"`, `"Capsule"`, or `"Mesh"`
`group`	`string`	all	Class: `"Static"`, `"Dynamic"`, or `"Robot"`
`pose`	`geometry_msgs/Pose`	all	World-frame center position and orientation
`radius`	`float32`	Sphere, Cylinder, Capsule	Radius of the shape
`height`	`float32`	Box, Cylinder, Capsule	Height / full extent along Z
`length`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along X
`width`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along Y
`semi_x`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along X
`semi_y`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Y
`semi_z`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Z
`mesh_resource`	`string`	Mesh	URI to mesh file (e.g. `package://my_robot/meshes/link.dae`)
`scale_x/y/z`	`float32`	Mesh	Per-axis mesh scale

`ObstacleArray.msg`

A stamped array of Obstacle messages, published to pfield/obstacles.

Field	Type	Description
`header`	`std_msgs/Header`	Timestamp and frame
`obstacles`	`Obstacle[]`	List of obstacles

CLI examples — one per shape type

# Sphere (radius = 0.1 m)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ball', type: 'Sphere', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.4, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.1
  }]
}"

# Box (15 cm × 70 cm × 60 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'table', type: 'Box', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.66, y: 0.0, z: 0.3}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    length: 0.15, width: 0.7, height: 0.6
  }]
}"

# Cylinder (radius = 9 cm, height = 30 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'pitcher', type: 'Cylinder', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.51, y: 0.0, z: 0.15}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.09, height: 0.3
  }]
}"

# Ellipsoid (semi-axes 8 cm × 5 cm × 12 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ellipsoid_obs', type: 'Ellipsoid', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.1, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    semi_x: 0.08, semi_y: 0.05, semi_z: 0.12
  }]
}"

# Capsule (radius = 5 cm, shaft length = 20 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'capsule_obs', type: 'Capsule', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.45, y: 0.0, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.05, height: 0.2
  }]
}"

# Mesh
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'mesh_obs', type: 'Mesh', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    mesh_resource: 'package://my_robot_description/meshes/obstacle.dae',
    scale_x: 1.0, scale_y: 1.0, scale_z: 1.0
  }]
}"

Services

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_interfaces

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

Clarified Obstacle type's geometry fields
New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
December Final Demos (#26)
Use Robot Dynamics to convert Joint Torques to Joint Velocities (#24)
Updating ComputeAutonomyVector
Collision Avoidance between robot links and environment obstacles (#21)
Merge branch 'main' of github.com:argallab/pfields_2025
Merged RobotParser into PFieldManager (#10)
PlanPath Service Demo (#7)
Planning "World" for path-planning with robot (#6)
Motion Interface (#5)
Update license to Apache 2.0
Updating email to northwestern email for packages
Custom service to plan path in PF
Merge pull request #4 from argallab/demo-package Example Package
Created robot parser node to listen for the transforms and parse the URDF collision objects
Created an interfaces package
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	rosidl_default_generators
	ament_cmake
	rosidl_default_runtime
	ament_lint_auto
	ament_lint_common
	ament_cmake_copyright
	std_msgs
	geometry_msgs
	nav_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	builtin_interfaces

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

Name	Deps
potential_fields
potential_fields_demos

Launch files

No launch files found

Messages

Services

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_interfaces` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro iron showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_interfaces package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Description
Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Custom Messages and Services for potential_fields package

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_interfaces`

ROS 2 message and service definitions for the potential_fields package. All nodes in this repository communicate using these types.

Messages

`Obstacle.msg`

Describes a single obstacle in the potential field environment.

Field	Type	Used by	Description
`frame_id`	`string`	all	Unique identifier for this obstacle (e.g. `"wall_1"`)
`type`	`string`	all	Shape: `"Sphere"`, `"Box"`, `"Cylinder"`, `"Ellipsoid"`, `"Capsule"`, or `"Mesh"`
`group`	`string`	all	Class: `"Static"`, `"Dynamic"`, or `"Robot"`
`pose`	`geometry_msgs/Pose`	all	World-frame center position and orientation
`radius`	`float32`	Sphere, Cylinder, Capsule	Radius of the shape
`height`	`float32`	Box, Cylinder, Capsule	Height / full extent along Z
`length`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along X
`width`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along Y
`semi_x`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along X
`semi_y`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Y
`semi_z`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Z
`mesh_resource`	`string`	Mesh	URI to mesh file (e.g. `package://my_robot/meshes/link.dae`)
`scale_x/y/z`	`float32`	Mesh	Per-axis mesh scale

`ObstacleArray.msg`

A stamped array of Obstacle messages, published to pfield/obstacles.

Field	Type	Description
`header`	`std_msgs/Header`	Timestamp and frame
`obstacles`	`Obstacle[]`	List of obstacles

CLI examples — one per shape type

# Sphere (radius = 0.1 m)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ball', type: 'Sphere', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.4, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.1
  }]
}"

# Box (15 cm × 70 cm × 60 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'table', type: 'Box', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.66, y: 0.0, z: 0.3}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    length: 0.15, width: 0.7, height: 0.6
  }]
}"

# Cylinder (radius = 9 cm, height = 30 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'pitcher', type: 'Cylinder', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.51, y: 0.0, z: 0.15}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.09, height: 0.3
  }]
}"

# Ellipsoid (semi-axes 8 cm × 5 cm × 12 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ellipsoid_obs', type: 'Ellipsoid', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.1, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    semi_x: 0.08, semi_y: 0.05, semi_z: 0.12
  }]
}"

# Capsule (radius = 5 cm, shaft length = 20 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'capsule_obs', type: 'Capsule', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.45, y: 0.0, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.05, height: 0.2
  }]
}"

# Mesh
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'mesh_obs', type: 'Mesh', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    mesh_resource: 'package://my_robot_description/meshes/obstacle.dae',
    scale_x: 1.0, scale_y: 1.0, scale_z: 1.0
  }]
}"

Services

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_interfaces

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

Clarified Obstacle type's geometry fields
New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
December Final Demos (#26)
Use Robot Dynamics to convert Joint Torques to Joint Velocities (#24)
Updating ComputeAutonomyVector
Collision Avoidance between robot links and environment obstacles (#21)
Merge branch 'main' of github.com:argallab/pfields_2025
Merged RobotParser into PFieldManager (#10)
PlanPath Service Demo (#7)
Planning "World" for path-planning with robot (#6)
Motion Interface (#5)
Update license to Apache 2.0
Updating email to northwestern email for packages
Custom service to plan path in PF
Merge pull request #4 from argallab/demo-package Example Package
Created robot parser node to listen for the transforms and parse the URDF collision objects
Created an interfaces package
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	rosidl_default_generators
	ament_cmake
	rosidl_default_runtime
	ament_lint_auto
	ament_lint_common
	ament_cmake_copyright
	std_msgs
	geometry_msgs
	nav_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	builtin_interfaces

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

Name	Deps
potential_fields
potential_fields_demos

Launch files

No launch files found

Messages

Services

Plugins

No plugins found.

Recent questions tagged `potential_fields_interfaces` at Robotics Stack Exchange

No version for distro melodic showing jazzy. Known supported distros are highlighted in the buttons above.

potential_fields_interfaces package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

ROS Distro
jazzy

API Docs
Browse Code
Wiki

Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Description
Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Custom Messages and Services for potential_fields package

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.

`potential_fields_interfaces`

ROS 2 message and service definitions for the potential_fields package. All nodes in this repository communicate using these types.

Messages

`Obstacle.msg`

Describes a single obstacle in the potential field environment.

Field	Type	Used by	Description
`frame_id`	`string`	all	Unique identifier for this obstacle (e.g. `"wall_1"`)
`type`	`string`	all	Shape: `"Sphere"`, `"Box"`, `"Cylinder"`, `"Ellipsoid"`, `"Capsule"`, or `"Mesh"`
`group`	`string`	all	Class: `"Static"`, `"Dynamic"`, or `"Robot"`
`pose`	`geometry_msgs/Pose`	all	World-frame center position and orientation
`radius`	`float32`	Sphere, Cylinder, Capsule	Radius of the shape
`height`	`float32`	Box, Cylinder, Capsule	Height / full extent along Z
`length`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along X
`width`	`float32`	Box	Full extent along Y
`semi_x`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along X
`semi_y`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Y
`semi_z`	`float32`	Ellipsoid	Semi-axis along Z
`mesh_resource`	`string`	Mesh	URI to mesh file (e.g. `package://my_robot/meshes/link.dae`)
`scale_x/y/z`	`float32`	Mesh	Per-axis mesh scale

`ObstacleArray.msg`

A stamped array of Obstacle messages, published to pfield/obstacles.

Field	Type	Description
`header`	`std_msgs/Header`	Timestamp and frame
`obstacles`	`Obstacle[]`	List of obstacles

CLI examples — one per shape type

# Sphere (radius = 0.1 m)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ball', type: 'Sphere', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.4, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.1
  }]
}"

# Box (15 cm × 70 cm × 60 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'table', type: 'Box', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.66, y: 0.0, z: 0.3}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    length: 0.15, width: 0.7, height: 0.6
  }]
}"

# Cylinder (radius = 9 cm, height = 30 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'pitcher', type: 'Cylinder', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.51, y: 0.0, z: 0.15}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.09, height: 0.3
  }]
}"

# Ellipsoid (semi-axes 8 cm × 5 cm × 12 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'ellipsoid_obs', type: 'Ellipsoid', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.1, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    semi_x: 0.08, semi_y: 0.05, semi_z: 0.12
  }]
}"

# Capsule (radius = 5 cm, shaft length = 20 cm)
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'capsule_obs', type: 'Capsule', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.45, y: 0.0, z: 0.2}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    radius: 0.05, height: 0.2
  }]
}"

# Mesh
ros2 topic pub --once /pfield/obstacles potential_fields_interfaces/msg/ObstacleArray "{
  header: {frame_id: 'world'},
  obstacles: [{
    frame_id: 'mesh_obs', type: 'Mesh', group: 'Static',
    pose: {position: {x: 0.5, y: 0.0, z: 0.1}, orientation: {w: 1.0}},
    mesh_resource: 'package://my_robot_description/meshes/obstacle.dae',
    scale_x: 1.0, scale_y: 1.0, scale_z: 1.0
  }]
}"

Services

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file

CHANGELOG

Changelog for package potential_fields_interfaces

1.0.2 (2026-04-04)

Clarified Obstacle type's geometry fields
New READMEs for demos and interfaces
Estimate Robot Geometry using Ellipsoids and Control Points for smooth WBV Repulsion (#42) Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <<noreply@anthropic.com>>
1.0.1
Rename Packages (#35)
December Final Demos (#26)
Use Robot Dynamics to convert Joint Torques to Joint Velocities (#24)
Updating ComputeAutonomyVector
Collision Avoidance between robot links and environment obstacles (#21)
Merge branch 'main' of github.com:argallab/pfields_2025
Merged RobotParser into PFieldManager (#10)
PlanPath Service Demo (#7)
Planning "World" for path-planning with robot (#6)
Motion Interface (#5)
Update license to Apache 2.0
Updating email to northwestern email for packages
Custom service to plan path in PF
Merge pull request #4 from argallab/demo-package Example Package
Created robot parser node to listen for the transforms and parse the URDF collision objects
Created an interfaces package
Contributors: Sharwin Patil, Sharwin24

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	rosidl_default_generators
	ament_cmake
	rosidl_default_runtime
	ament_lint_auto
	ament_lint_common
	ament_cmake_copyright
	std_msgs
	geometry_msgs
	nav_msgs
	trajectory_msgs
	builtin_interfaces

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

Name	Deps
potential_fields
potential_fields_demos

Launch files

No launch files found

Messages

Services

Plugins

No plugins found.

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potential_fields_interfaces package from potential_fields repo

potential_fields potential_fields_demos potential_fields_interfaces potential_fields_library

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Package Summary

Version	1.0.2
License	Apache 2.0
Build type	AMENT_CMAKE
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Description
Checkout URI	https://github.com/argallab/potential_fields.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	main
Last Updated	2026-04-05
Dev Status	DEVELOPED
Released	UNRELEASED
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Custom Messages and Services for potential_fields package

Maintainers

Sharwin Patil

Authors

No additional authors.