Maps

Maps are the foundation for your robot visualization. You will add layers on top of the map.

Ground plane

Basic 3D visualization of the area around your robot in Cartesian coordinates.

Property Name	Input	Usage
X offset	X-axis offset from origin (meters)	Set an x-axis offset of the center of your scene from the origin of the ground plane.
Y offset	Y-axis offset from origin (meters)	Set a y-axis offset of the center of your scene from the origin of the ground plane.
Z offset	Z-axis offset from origin (meters)	Set a z-axis offset of the center of your scene from the origin of the ground plane.

GPS

GPS map visualization of the area around your robot.

Robot URDF over a GPS map showing its position — Robot URDF on a GPS map showing its real-world position.

Property name	Input	Usage
World map type	Satellite, Street, Satellite street	Choose the type of map you want to use.
Map edge length	Map boundary size (meters)	Select the size of your map. Larger map boundaries take longer to render and update.
Default latitude	Latitude (decimal format)	Manual entry of the default latitude of your GPS map. N and E are positive values, S and W are negative values. If you specify a default latitude and default longitude, that location will become the origin of your scene and override the telemetry stream.
Default longitude	Longitude (decimal format)	Manual entry of the default longitude of your GPS map. N and E are positive values, S and W are negative values. If you specify a default latitude and default longitude, that location will become the origin of your scene and override the telemetry stream.
Telemetry stream	GPS stream name	Provide a GPS telemetry stream. If you specify a default latitude and default longitude, that location will become the origin of your scene and override the telemetry stream.
X offset	X-axis offset from origin (meters)	Set an x-axis offset of the center of your scene from the origin of the map.
Y offset	Y-axis offset from origin (meters)	Set a y-axis offset of the center of your scene from the origin of the map.
Z offset	Z-axis offset from origin (meters)	Set a z-axis offset of the center of your scene from the origin of the map.

Occupancy

Use localization data to populate an occupancy grid map.

Property Name	Input	Usage
Telemetry stream	Localization stream name	Provide a localization stream to feed the occupancy map visualization.
Use historical data	Boolean	Enable if a live data stream is not available. Formant will use the most recent historical data available.

Layers

Layers provide 3D renderings of data streams from your robot. Layers are projected over your map and are stacked on top of each other. For information on building custom layers, see Develop custom 3D Scene maps and layers.

Each layer can be positioned by various transforms. This section describes the unique properties of each layer, and the transform properties are described in the following section.

Position indicator

Shows the current position of your robot on the map.

Property Name	Input	Usage
Use URDF	Boolean	Use the URDF file set for your Device. To add a URDF file, in the top-right corner of Formant, click on the three dots (meatball menu) and go to Configure device >> Add URDF. For more information, see URDF.

Marker array

Add a layer of geometric shapes by providing a Marker Array.

Property Name	Input	Usage
Telemetry stream	Marker Array stream name	Provide a Marker Array stream to feed the geometry layer visualization.
Use historical data	Boolean	Enable if a live data stream is not available. Formant will use the most recent historical data available.

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For more detail on marker arrays, see Marker arrays in the Scene module.

Point cloud

Add a point cloud layer by providing a localization stream.

Property Name	Input	Usage
Decay time	Point cloud decay time (s)	Set how long data points will stay in the point cloud visualization before disappearing.
Full color?	Boolean	If enabled, Formant will display the color provided by the sensor. If disabled, Formant will auto-fill with a default color.
Telemetry stream name	Point cloud stream name	Provide a point cloud stream to feed the point cloud visualization.
Use historical data	Boolean	Enable if a live data stream is not available. Formant will use the most recent historical data available.

Path

Show the path your robot has taken to arrive at its present position by providing a path stream.

Property Name	Input	Usage
Telemetry stream name	Path stream name	Provide a Path stream to feed the path layer visualization.
Use historical data	Boolean	Enable if a live data stream is not available. Formant will use the most recent historical data available.

Transforms

Use transforms to set the position of a layer relative to the origin of your 3D scene.

Cartesian

Sets the origin of a layer to the (x,y,z) coordinates relative to the origin of the map.

Property Name	Input	Usage
X offset	Layer's offset along the x-axis from the origin (meters)	Set the layer's x-axis offset from the scene's origin.
Y offset	Layer's offset along the y-axis from the origin (meters)	Set the layer's y-axis offset from the scene's origin.
Z offset	Layer's offset along the z-axis from the origin (meters)	Set the layer's z-axis offset from the scene's origin.

GPS

Sets the origin for a layer to (relative latitude, relative longitude). Layered object is placed according to the GPS stream. Distances in meters are then calculated between the GPS stream and the origin of the layer.

Property Name	Input	Usage
Relative latitude	Layer's origin latitude	Set layer's origin latitude. N and E are positive values, S and W are negative values.
Relative longitude	Layer's origin longitude	Set layer's origin longitude. N and E are positive values, S and W are negative values.
GPS stream	Name of GPS stream for layer	Provide a GPS stream to perform a GPS transformation on your layer. Position and distances for this layer will be calculated relative to the the Relative latitude and Relative longitude. For example, if the layer is a waypoint placed at (45, 105), and the GPS stream reports a robot location of (46,104), a distance measurement between the GPS stream and the layer's origin would report the distance in meters that is subtended by a (lat, long) difference of (1,-1).

Odometry

Move an object in your scene based on odometry data, via either telemetry stream or realtime stream. When both streams are present, telemetry is prioritized. For more information on telemetry vs. realtime streams, see Ingestion, Streams, Datapoints, and Assets.

Property Name	Input	Usage
Localization stream	Name of localization telemetry stream	Provide a localization stream to perform an odometry transformation on your layer.
Localization world to local	Boolean	Enable to perform a world-to-local transformation on your odometry data.
Localization realtime stream	Name of localization realtime stream	Provide a localization realtime stream to perform an odometry transformation on your layer.

Transform tree

Move an object in your scene based on transform tree data.

Property Name	Input	Usage
Transform tree stream	Name of transform tree stream	Provide a transform tree stream to perform a transform tree transformation on your layer.
Transform tree end point	Name of end point	Provide the name of the end point of interest in your transform tree.

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