File Extraction

It is very useful to be able to locate and extract files from running Docker containers on a ROS machine. These can be for instance URDF mesh files (STL, DAE) and textures, or models of objects detected by computer vision. The World Model 3D utilizes this feature extensively.

Files are uploaded to the Bridge Server, cached and served from there on subsequent requests to save on robot’s networking bandwidth. In order to invalidate this cache, call the phntm_bridge/clear_cloud_file_cache service (availale in the Services menu in the Web UI).

Notes

• Only package:// or file:// URLs are supported

• When locating a file via package://, it is important for the Docker container containing the package to have the ROS_WS environmental variable set as we need to source the ROS environment from $ROS_WS/install/setup.bash during the file search. The search operation attempts to source ~/.bashrc too, so you can alternatively source your ROS environment there (which we recommend as a good practice anyway).

• Thanks to the standalone Bridge Agent design, it is possible to extract files from all parts of a distributed system. One Agent instance needs to be installed on every component.

Configuration Options

phntm_bridge.yaml or phntm_agent.yaml

 /**:
   ros__parameters:

     file_upload_port: 1336 # Bridge Server's File Receiver port to upload files to (only the Bridge Client needs this)
     file_chunks_topic: /file_chunks # Agent produces file chunks to this topic, Bridge Client receives

How it Works