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RViz Tasks Panel

RViz2 panel plugin for dispatching and monitoring ROS 2 task action goals. Provides a tabbed GUI where operators can parameterize, execute, and cancel tasks on any discovered robot, with live feedback and result display.

Screenshot of the RViz Tasks Panel showing multiple tabs and parameter widgets takeoff navigate

Overview

The Tasks Panel replaces CLI-based action goal dispatch with a graphical interface for all 8 AirStack task types. Each task type gets its own tab with auto-generated parameter widgets, an executor selector, and a feedback/result view.

The Navigate tab integrates directly with the waypoint_rviz2_plugin package's shared WaypointManager singleton, providing inline controls for placing, editing, saving/loading, and executing waypoint-based navigation -- no separate waypoint panel needed.

+-----------------------------------------------------+
|  Tasks Panel                      Robot: [robot_1]   |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
| [Takeoff] [Land] [Navigate] [Exploration] [Coverage] |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
|  +- Goal Parameters -----+  +- Feedback & Result -+ |
|  | Executor: [/robot1/..] |  | Feedback:           | |
|  | Height: [2.0]  Wp: 3   |  | [live stream]       | |
|  | X:[1] Y:[2] Z:[2] Y:[0]|  |                     | |
|  | [Clear] [Save] [Load]  |  | Result:             | |
|  | goal_tolerance_m: [1.0] |  | [goal outcome]      | |
|  | [Cancel]     [Execute]  |  |                     | |
|  +-------------------------+  +---------------------+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------+

Features

  • 8 task tabs with auto-generated goal parameter widgets
  • Executor discovery -- scans ROS 2 topics every 5 seconds to find running action servers
  • Robot namespace selector -- auto-populated from discovered action server namespaces
  • Polygon input -- integrates with rviz_polygon_selection_tool to capture 3D polygon selections
  • Integrated waypoint controls -- the Navigate tab embeds waypoint management (height, X/Y/Z/Yaw editing, Clear, Save, Load) via the shared WaypointManager singleton from waypoint_rviz2_plugin
  • Fixed Trajectory editor -- type dropdown with auto-populated default attributes in an editable key-value table
  • Live feedback -- timestamped feedback messages stream in real time
  • Result display -- color-coded status (green = succeeded, red = aborted, orange = canceled)
  • Config persistence -- robot and executor selections are saved/restored with the RViz config
  • Single-task lock -- only one action may execute at a time to prevent conflicts
  • Airborne-only tasks -- Land, Navigate, and all mission tasks are disabled until the drone is airborne (subscribes to is_airborne from takeoff_landing_planner); Takeoff is always available while idle

Supported Task Types

Tasks marked airborne-only are disabled until the drone is in the air.

Tab Action Type Key Parameters Airborne-only
Takeoff TakeoffTask target_altitude_m, velocity_m_s
Land LandTask velocity_m_s ✓
Navigate NavigateTask global_plan (Path), goal_tolerance_m ✓
Exploration ExplorationTask search_bounds (Polygon), altitude/speed, time_limit_sec ✓
Coverage CoverageTask coverage_area (Polygon), line_spacing_m, heading_deg ✓
Semantic Search SemanticSearchTask query, background_queries, search_area, confidence_threshold ✓
Chat ChatTask text, images (file upload)
Fixed Trajectory FixedTrajectoryTask trajectory_spec, loop ✓

Widget Type Mapping

ROS Type Widget Notes
float32/float64 QDoubleSpinBox Range from registry
int32 QSpinBox Range from registry
string QLineEdit Free-text input
bool QCheckBox Toggle
geometry_msgs/Polygon QPushButton Calls get_selection service
nav_msgs/Path Waypoint controls Inline height/pose/buttons via WaypointManager
airstack_msgs/FixedTrajectory QComboBox + QTableWidget Type + attributes

Dependencies

  • rviz_common -- RViz2 panel base class
  • pluginlib -- plugin loading
  • rclcpp / rclcpp_action -- ROS 2 node and action client
  • task_msgs -- action definitions for all 8 task types
  • airstack_msgs -- FixedTrajectory message
  • geometry_msgs / nav_msgs / std_msgs -- standard message types
  • diagnostic_msgs / action_msgs -- status introspection
  • rviz_polygon_selection_tool -- polygon selection service
  • waypoint_rviz2_plugin -- shared WaypointManager singleton
  • Qt5 (Core, Widgets, Gui)

Build

colcon build --packages-select waypoint_rviz2_plugin rviz_tasks_panel

Usage

  1. Launch RViz2
  2. Go to Panels > Add New Panel
  3. Select rviz_tasks_panel / TasksPanel
  4. The panel auto-discovers running task action servers and populates the Robot dropdown
  5. Select a tab, configure goal parameters, and click Execute
  6. Monitor feedback in the right pane; click Cancel to abort

Waypoint Navigation (Navigate tab)

  1. Activate the Waypoint Tool (key 1) in the RViz toolbar
  2. Left-click in the 3D viewport to place waypoints
  3. In the Navigate tab, adjust Default Height, or edit the selected waypoint's X/Y/Z/Yaw spinboxes
  4. Use Save / Load to persist waypoints as .db3 files
  5. Use Clear All to remove all waypoints
  6. Set goal_tolerance_m and click Execute to navigate

Polygon Selection

For tasks requiring a polygon boundary:

  1. Activate the Polygon Selection Tool in the toolbar
  2. Draw a polygon in the 3D viewport
  3. Click Get Polygon from RViz in the relevant task tab

Fixed Trajectory

  1. Select a trajectory type from the dropdown
  2. Edit default attributes in the key-value table
  3. Click Execute

Executor Discovery

The panel scans get_topic_names_and_types() for topics matching */<action_topic_suffix>/_action/status. For each match, it extracts the robot namespace and populates:

  • The top-level Robot dropdown
  • Each tab's Executor dropdown

Discovery runs every 5 seconds and can be triggered manually with the Refresh button.

Architecture

  • Compile-time task registry: getTaskDefs() returns a static vector of TaskTypeDef structs defining all task types
  • Shared waypoint state: The Navigate tab holds a shared_ptr<WaypointManager> (singleton from waypoint_rviz2_plugin), the same instance used by WaypointTool for 3D mouse interaction
  • Type-erased action clients: std::any stores templated rclcpp_action::Client instances per tab
  • Thread safety: ROS 2 callbacks use QMetaObject::invokeMethod with Qt::QueuedConnection to marshal UI updates to the Qt main thread
  • Airborne gate: subscribes to {robot}/is_airborne (std_msgs/Bool from takeoff_landing_planner); per-tab Execute buttons are enabled only when task_idle && airborne_ok, where airborne_ok = !requires_airborne || is_airborne_

License

MIT -- Carnegie Mellon University