Drivers and Interfaces

This page catalogs ROS drivers for maritime sensors, actuators, and communication devices, plus the maritime_interfaces package for standard message definitions.

Maritime Interfaces Package

maritime_interfaces

The ros-maritime organization maintains a package of standard message and service definitions for maritime robotics.

Purpose: - Standardize data formats across maritime ROS packages - Enable interoperability between different systems - Provide maritime-specific message types

Contents: - Sonar messages - Acoustic communication messages - Marine sensor messages - Maritime-specific service definitions

ROS Version: ROS 2

Other Standard Message Packages

marine_msgs

marine_msgs | University of Washington Applied Physics Lab

Standardized ROS message definitions for maritime robotics, providing common data types across the community.

Features: - USBL position messages - DVL velocity and bottom track - Maritime navigation data types - Acoustic communication messages - ROS 1 and ROS 2 support

Status: Actively maintained with ROS 2 support

Why Use It: Provides community-standard message definitions that promote interoperability between different maritime robotics projects.

marine_acoustic_msgs

Message definitions specifically for acoustic sensors and communication in marine environments. (No current public repository link available.)

Sonar Drivers

Imaging Sonar

ping360_sonar - Manufacturer: Blue Robotics Ping360 - Type: Mechanically scanning imaging sonar - ROS Version: ROS 1 - Features: - Point cloud generation - Configurable range and gain - Angular resolution control - Image and scan data output

Multibeam Sonar

Various manufacturers provide multibeam sonar systems. Drivers are often manufacturer-specific or use generic interfaces:

  • Teledyne BlueView series
  • Oculus multibeam imaging sonar
  • Nortek multibeam systems

Integration Approaches: - Manufacturer SDKs wrapped in ROS nodes - Generic multibeam interfaces - Point cloud output for SLAM integration

Forward-Looking Sonar (FLS)

Used for obstacle avoidance and navigation: - Short-range detection - Real-time obstacle mapping - Integration with autonomy systems

DVL (Doppler Velocity Log)

Essential for underwater navigation.

Common Manufacturers: - Teledyne RDI: Workhorse, Explorer DVL - Nortek: DVL1000, DVL500 - LinkQuest: NavQuest series - Water Linked: DVL A50

⚠️ Note: The waterlinked/dvl-a50-ros-driver GitHub repository is archived (last push 2024-02-26).

ROS Integration: - Velocity measurements (body frame) - Bottom-lock altitude - Water-track velocity - Integration with robot_localization - See whoi_ds for WHOI DVL drivers

IMU / INS Drivers

sbg_ros2_driver - Manufacturer: SBG Systems (Ellipse series) - ROS Version: ROS 2 - Features: - Orientation (quaternion, Euler angles) - Angular velocity - Linear acceleration - Magnetometer data - GNSS integration (for surface) - Time synchronization

Other IMU Drivers: - VectorNav ROS drivers (community-developed) - Xsens drivers - LORD MicroStrain drivers - Standard sensor_msgs/Imu compatible sensors

Pressure / Depth Sensors

Integration: - Simple serial or I2C interface - Published as sensor_msgs/FluidPressure - Depth calculation from pressure - Temperature compensation

Acoustic Communication

WHOI ros_acomms ⭐

ros_acomms | Documentation

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's ROS-based acoustic communication stack. See the project documentation for deployment history and supported configurations.

Features: - Transport ROS messages over underwater acoustic links - Modular modem driver architecture - Message queue management for link optimization - Media Access Control (MAC) engines - Acoustic link simulator with ray-tracing model

Supported Hardware: - WHOI Micro-Modem family (primary target) - Iridium satellite links (low-throughput mode) - Extensible to other acoustic modems via modular driver interface

ROS Version: ROS 1 (ROS 2 migration status unknown)

Why Use It: ros_acomms provides an end-to-end acoustic communications stack for ROS; see the documentation for feature and configuration details.

See the Software page for details on features, applications, and performance characteristics.

Manufacturer-Specific Drivers

Various acoustic modem manufacturers provide or support ROS integration: - EvoLogics modems - Teledyne Benthos - Sonardyne

GNSS / GPS Drivers

For surface vehicles:

Standard Drivers: - nmea_navsat_driver: NMEA 0183 protocol support (ROS 1) - nmea_gps_driver: NMEA support for ROS 2 - u-blox drivers for u-blox receivers - SwiftNav Piksi drivers

Use Cases: - Surface vehicle positioning - Time synchronization - Heading (with dual GPS)

Environmental Sensors

CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth)

Integration: - Serial interface (most common) - Custom message types or sensor_msgs - Logging for oceanographic data

Manufacturers: - Sea-Bird Scientific - RBR - Aanderaa

Weather Stations

For surface vessels: - Wind speed and direction - Air temperature and pressure - Humidity - Integration with meteorological data systems

WHOI Deep Submergence Lab Drivers

whoi_ds

whoi_ds | WHOI Bitbucket workspace (repo access may require approval)

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Deep Submergence Lab's ROS driver package for deep submergence vehicle sensors.

Status: ROS 1 (legacy package, part of WHOI DSL ecosystem)

Supported Sensors:

Navigation Sensors: - DVL Drivers: Teledyne RDI DVLs (Workhorse, Explorer series) - Bottom-track and water-track velocity - Altitude measurements - Beam diagnostics - INS/IMU: Kearfott INS, PHINS INS, other inertial navigation systems - USBL: Underwater acoustic positioning systems

Environmental Sensors: - CTD: Sea-Bird SBE 49 FastCAT and other CTD sensors - Altimeters: Teledyne Benthos acoustic altimeters - Depth Sensors: Paroscientific pressure sensors

Acoustic Systems: - Sonars: Integration with various imaging and profiling sonars - Acoustic Modems: Integration layer for underwater communication devices

Message Definitions: The package includes ds_msgs message definitions for deep submergence sensors, providing standardized interfaces for the WHOI sensor ecosystem.

Integration: - Works with the WHOI DSL simulation environment (ds_sim) - Designed for deep submergence vehicle operations - Provides standardized interfaces for multi-sensor fusion

Note: For new projects, consider whether modern ROS 2 alternatives are available. This package represents field-tested code from deep submergence operations (see repository history for details).

Actuator Drivers

Thruster Controllers

Integration Approaches:

  1. Direct PWM Control:
  2. ROS node generates PWM signals
  3. Hardware interface (e.g., PCA9685)

  4. Simple, low-level control

  5. Through Flight Controller:

  6. PX4, ArduSub integration
  7. MAVLink protocol

  8. Higher-level interface

  9. ros2_control Integration:

  10. Hardware abstraction
  11. Controller lifecycle management
  12. Standardized interfaces

Common Hardware: - Blue Robotics ESCs (Electronic Speed Controllers) - Custom motor controllers - Servo-based control surfaces

Manipulator Control

For underwater manipulators: - Joint position controllers - Gripper control - Force/torque sensing - Integration with MoveIt for motion planning

Camera Drivers

Underwater Cameras

Standard Drivers: - usb_cam: USB camera support (ROS 1) - ros2_v4l2_camera: Video4Linux cameras (ROS 2) - gscam: GStreamer-based camera pipeline

Specialized: - Deep-sea cameras with serial control - Stereo camera systems - Low-light / scientific cameras

Considerations: - Color correction for underwater - Lighting control - Synchronization for stereo

Topside Cameras

Surface vehicles may use: - Standard computer vision cameras - Thermal cameras (FLIR drivers) - PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) cameras

Communication Hardware

Serial Devices

Most marine sensors use serial communication:

ROS Integration: - serial library - Custom serial node development - rosserial for microcontrollers

Ethernet Devices

Many modern sensors use Ethernet: - TCP/IP communication - UDP for real-time data - Web interfaces for configuration

Power Monitoring

Battery and power system monitoring:

Measurements: - Voltage - Current - State of Charge (SoC) - Temperature

Integration: - Battery Management System (BMS) interfaces - Custom power monitoring nodes - Safety cutoff logic

Multi-Sensor Integration

Sensor Fusion Frameworks

robot_localization - Fuses multiple sensors (IMU, GPS, DVL, etc.) - EKF and UKF implementations - Standard sensor_msgs inputs - Handles discontinuous measurements (e.g., acoustic positioning)

Driver Development Guidelines

When developing new maritime sensor drivers:

  1. Use Standard Messages: Prefer sensor_msgs and nav_msgs where possible
  2. Consider maritime_interfaces: Use or contribute to maritime-specific message types
  3. Time Synchronization: Properly timestamp all sensor data
  4. Configuration: Use ROS parameters for sensor configuration
  5. Error Handling: Report sensor faults and connection issues
  6. Documentation: Provide clear documentation for setup and configuration
  7. ROS 2: Target ROS 2 for new development when possible

This page was last updated: December 30, 2025