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Using tf2 with ROS 2

There is preliminary support for tf2 in ROS 2. We rely heavily on tf2 in ROS 1 to manage data about coordinate transforms, and we expect to continue to use extensively in ROS 2.

Here’s how to try it out. In each shell, be sure to start by sourcing the ROS 2 setup file as usual (e.g. on Linux . ~/ros2_ws/install/setup.bash or on Windows call C:\dev\ros2\install\setup.bat).

Publishing transform data

First run the static_transform_publisher to generate tf2 data:

ros2 run tf2_ros static_transform_publisher 1 2 3 0.5 0.1 -1.0 foo bar

That tool will publish a static transform from the parent frame foo to the child frame bar with (X, Y, Z) translation (1, 2, 3) and (yaw, pitch, roll) body-fixed axis rotation sequence (0.5, 0.1, -1.0).

Receiving transform data

Now we can check whether it’s possible to receive that transform data with tf2_echo:

ros2 run tf2_ros tf2_echo foo bar

You should see repeated output similar to this:

At time 0.0
- Translation: [1.000, 2.000, 3.000]
- Rotation: in Quaternion [-0.475, -0.076, 0.240, 0.843]

Note that tf2_echo is reporting the rotation as a quaternion as opposed to roll, pitch, and yaw.