Add ROS 2 Support to Behavior Metrics for PhD Thesis Research

[canveo]

Add ROS 2 Support to Behavior Metrics for PhD Thesis Research

Issue Description

The Behavior Metrics tool currently supports ROS 1 but lacks functionality for ROS 2. As a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Jose Maria Cañas, my research involves using ROS 2 Humble for simulations. Adding ROS 2 support to Behavior Metrics is crucial for evaluating performance metrics as part of my thesis on autonomous systems.

Motivation

1. Enhanced Capabilities: ROS 2 offers significant improvements over ROS 1, such as enhanced real-time capabilities, better middleware (DDS), and widespread adoption in the robotics community.
2. Relevance: Adding ROS 2 support will enable Behavior Metrics to remain relevant in modern robotics workflows and meet the needs of researchers working with ROS 2-based systems, including my own work.

Proposed Solution

1. Refactor ROS 1-specific components to enable integration with ROS 2 using rclpy.
2. Develop and test a modular implementation that ensures compatibility with both ROS 1 and ROS 2.
3. Provide documentation and usage examples for ROS 2 environments.

Expected Impact

• Behavior: Behavior Metrics will support collecting performance metrics from ROS 2-based simulations.
• Environment: ROS 2 Humble.
• Benefits: Researchers working with ROS 2 will be able to utilize Behavior Metrics seamlessly, expanding its usability and relevance.

Steps to Achieve

1. Analyze the current codebase to identify ROS 1-specific components.
2. Implement ROS 2 communication using rclpy.
3. Test the implementation in a ROS 2 environment to ensure proper functionality.
4. Update documentation and examples for ROS 2 usage.

Request for Feedback

• Feasibility of adding ROS 2 support while maintaining ROS 1 compatibility.
• Best practices for transitioning Behavior Metrics to dual ROS 1/ROS 2 support.
• Suggestions for optimizing the implementation for real-time performance in ROS 2.