You can use either a physical controller (gamepad), the keyboard, or virtual joysticks to remotely control your device.

This guide will teach you how to configure your teleoperation interface to use a joystick for control.

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This page refers to Twist message types. If you need to use a Joy message type, reach out to our Customer Success team via the Intercom messenger in the bottom-right corner of this page, or at [email protected].

Prerequisites (optional)

Test gamepad

If you are using a gamepad, first test its compatibility and button mapping using the following tool: Hardware Tester: Gamepad Tester.

Make a note of the button mapping. The gamepad Button 0 will correspond to your teleoperation interface Button 0, etc.

Create buttons

If you want the buttons on your gamepad to operate virtual buttons on your teleoperation interface, you'll have to create virtual buttons first. For more information, see Add buttons to your teleoperation interface.

Step 1: Navigate to device teleoperation settings

1. In Formant, in the upper-left corner, open the menu and click Settings.
2. Click Devices, and then click on the device you want to configure.
3. Click on the Teleoperation tab to open the teleoperation configuration page.

Step 2: Add a joystick stream

ROS

Formant will send joystick coordinate data as a geometry_msgs/Twist stream.

1. In the teleoperation configuration page, scroll down to Joystick and click the plus (+) icon.
2. Click Add ROS Topic.
3. Enter the ROS topic to which you want to post joystick coordinate data.
4. Click Done to bring up the Joystick configuration screen.

API

You can also handle joystick input through the Agent SDK.

1. In the teleoperation configuration page, scroll down to Joystick and click the plus (+) icon.
2. Click Add from API.
3. Enter the name of the function which handles joystick input. For an example of how to handle joystick input in the Agent SDK, see GitHub: teleop.py.
4. Click Done to bring up the Joystick configuration screen.

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For a complete reference for the Agent SDK, see Agent SDK Reference.

Step 3: Configure joystick settings

You can configure up to four axes across two joysticks. Each axis is mapped to a particular axis in a standard Twist message. A Twist message has linear x,y,z axes, and angular x,y,z axes.

Step 4: Configure global settings

At the bottom of the Joystick configuration window, you'll see a list of global settings for both joysticks:

Step 5: Preview your joystick output

You can use the Preview window to generate sample joystick data based on mouse, gamepad, or keypad input. Sample data will be shown in the Output section.

Step 6: Verify your work in teleoperation mode

1. In your device view, in the upper-right corner, click the three dots >> Teleop, or enter Shift + T.
2. Verify that your joystick input is working properly.

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If you notice an issue with this page or need help, please reach out to us! Use the 'Did this page help you?' buttons below, or get in contact with our Customer Success team via the Intercom messenger in the bottom-right corner of this page, or at [email protected].