vr: add VrBaseComponent base-velocity teleop leader by abhichothani42 · Pull Request #262 · TrossenRobotics/trossen_sdk

abhichothani42 · 2026-06-22T23:59:52Z

Summary

Adds VrBaseComponent, a base-velocity teleop leader driven by VR thumbstick(s) (hardware type vr_base_component). Pairs with the SLATE base follower.

Changes

read() samples the configured thumbstick(s) and returns [linear_mps, angular_rps]: forward stick → forward velocity, left stick → positive yaw. write() is a no-op (leader-only). Returns zeros while the headset is disconnected so the base does not coast on a stale frame.
A centered deadzone zeroes small stick noise, then rescales the remaining travel to full range before applying max_linear_mps / max_angular_rps caps.
Split-axis mode: linear and angular axes may come from the same or different controllers; either axis may be specified independently, with a documented fallback.
configure() validates max_linear_mps / max_angular_rps (non-negative, finite).

Test Plan

Builds cleanly (make build)
Tests pass (make test)
Lint passes (pre-commit run --all-files)
Tested on hardware

Breaking Changes

None.

Related Issues

N/A — part of the VR teleoperation feature stack.

abhichothani42 · 2026-06-23T00:00:01Z

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Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds a new VR hardware component that exposes VR controller thumbstick input as a mobile-base velocity teleop leader, integrating with the existing VrSession singleton and hardware registry.

Changes:

Introduces VrBaseComponent (header + implementation) that outputs [linear_mps, angular_rps] from thumbstick axes with deadzone + scaling.
Adds JSON configuration parsing for controller selection (single-hand and split-axis modes), plus connection waiting in prepare_for_teleop().
Registers the component and links it into the trossen_sdk shared library build.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

File	Description
`src/hw/vr/vr_base_component.cpp`	Implements VR thumbstick → base velocity readout, session lifecycle, and config parsing.
`include/trossen_sdk/hw/vr/vr_base_component.hpp`	Declares the new teleop-capable hardware component and documents its JSON config/IO contract.
`CMakeLists.txt`	Adds the new source file to the `trossen_sdk` library target.

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shantanuparab-tr

The deadzone, the scaling, the caps, and especially the steering direction (push forward to go forward, push left to turn left) can all be tested without hardware. A wrong direction here is a crash into a wall, so a tiny test to lock the direction is worth it.

shantanuparab-tr · 2026-06-30T22:35:09Z

+  // user-configured limit.
+  const double linear  =  y * max_linear_mps_;
+  const double angular = -x * max_angular_rps_;
+  return {static_cast<float>(linear), static_cast<float>(angular)};


A "not a number" value coming in over the network would pass through the math and reach the base. Your own math cannot create one given the config checks, but the network can. Same small real-number check as the arm.

Added the same finite check, a bad frame stops the base instead of forwarding NaN.

shantanuparab-tr · 2026-06-30T22:36:32Z

+std::vector<float> VrBaseComponent::read() {
+  // Hold zero velocity while the headset is disconnected so the base does not
+  // coast on a stale frame.
+  if (!VrSession::instance().is_vr_connected()) return {0.0f, 0.0f};


"Sends zeros when disconnected" is true once it notices, but it only counts as disconnected after about 2 seconds of silence. So on a sudden drop, the base keeps moving at the last speed for up to 2 seconds. On a moving base that is a real distance. Can we document that, or shorten the timeout?

read() already zeros velocity while disconnected. added a note that is_vr_connected() tracks the heartbeat, so it can lag a real drop by up to that timeout

shantanuparab-tr · 2026-06-30T22:38:15Z

+  const bool has_angular = config.contains("angular_controller_type");
+  const bool has_legacy  = config.contains("controller_type");
+
+  if (!has_linear && !has_angular && !has_legacy) {


"legacy" is confusing on a brand new component. Legacy compared to what?

Renamed has_legacy → has_shared

abhichothani42 · 2026-07-10T16:01:41Z

Added test_vr_base_component.cpp for deadzone, scaling, caps, and the steering direction

Add VrBaseComponent, a base-velocity teleop leader driven by VR thumbstick(s). Registered as hardware type "vr_base_component". - read() samples the configured thumbstick(s) and returns [linear_mps, angular_rps]: forward stick -> forward velocity, left stick -> positive yaw. write() is a no-op (leader-only). - A centered deadzone zeroes small stick noise, then rescales the remaining travel to full range before applying max_linear_mps / max_angular_rps caps. - Split-axis mode: linear and angular axes may come from the same or different controllers (e.g. right stick to drive, left stick to turn). Claims the thumbstick on each controller_type it reads via VrSession. Builds on VrSession and the Base teleop space (BaseSpaceTeleop). Pairs with the SLATE base follower. Adds src/hw/vr/vr_base_component.cpp to the library.

…oller shape

This was referenced Jun 22, 2026

teleop: add base-velocity (Base) space to teleop interface #257

Open

hw: make SlateBaseComponent a base-velocity teleop follower #258

Open

session-control: add SessionControlCapable interface #259

Open

vr: add shared VrSession connection owner #260

Open

abhichothani42 marked this pull request as ready for review June 23, 2026 00:00

abhichothani42 requested review from Copilot, lukeschmitt-tr and shantanuparab-tr June 23, 2026 00:03

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of abhichothani42 June 23, 2026 00:07 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Jun 23, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread src/hw/vr/vr_base_component.cpp

Comment thread src/hw/vr/vr_base_component.cpp Outdated

Comment thread src/hw/vr/vr_base_component.cpp

Comment thread include/trossen_sdk/hw/vr/vr_base_component.hpp

abhichothani42 force-pushed the vr-05-vr-arm-component branch from e0d0dc5 to c716b0c Compare June 23, 2026 00:58

abhichothani42 force-pushed the vr-06-vr-base-component branch 2 times, most recently from b6e47c5 to d1dd2e0 Compare June 23, 2026 01:37

abhichothani42 force-pushed the vr-05-vr-arm-component branch from c716b0c to 5e8f734 Compare June 23, 2026 01:37

This was referenced Jun 28, 2026

arm: add EndEffectorPoseRecord and proto schema #267

Open

backend: add end-effector pose write support to TrossenMCAP #268

Open

arm: emit end-effector pose from TrossenArmProducer #269

Open

examples: update sanity check for end-effector pose #270

Open

shantanuparab-tr requested changes Jun 30, 2026

View reviewed changes

abhichothani42 force-pushed the vr-05-vr-arm-component branch from 5e8f734 to a85d93c Compare July 10, 2026 14:34

abhichothani42 force-pushed the vr-06-vr-base-component branch from d1dd2e0 to 7eb8d37 Compare July 10, 2026 14:34

abhichothani42 mentioned this pull request Jul 10, 2026

feat: post_event/attach_control queue for thread-safe session control #271

Open

4 tasks

abhichothani42 requested a review from shantanuparab-tr July 10, 2026 16:11

abhichothani42 added 3 commits July 10, 2026 14:02

review: adopt VrSessionLease, guard NaN velocity, rename shared-contr…

4fd831e

…oller shape

test: add VrBaseComponent deadzone/scaling/steering tests

1c42bfa

abhichothani42 force-pushed the vr-05-vr-arm-component branch from a85d93c to 8e7f5ee Compare July 10, 2026 19:03

abhichothani42 force-pushed the vr-06-vr-base-component branch from 7eb8d37 to 1c42bfa Compare July 10, 2026 19:03

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vr: add VrBaseComponent base-velocity teleop leader#262

vr: add VrBaseComponent base-velocity teleop leader#262
abhichothani42 wants to merge 3 commits into
vr-05-vr-arm-componentfrom
vr-06-vr-base-component

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