Tool communication parameter tool_rx_idle_chars/tool_tx_idle_chars is not set correctly

[kamikat]

Affected ROS Driver version(s)

master

Used ROS distribution.

Noetic

Which combination of platform is the ROS driver running on.

Linux

How is the UR ROS Driver installed.

Build the driver from source and using the UR Client Library from binary

Which robot platform is the driver connected to.

UR E-series robot

Robot SW / URSim version(s)

5.12.5

How is the ROS driver used.

Others

Issue details

Summary

Launch parameter tool_rx_idle_chars/tool_tx_idle_chars is not correctly set for tool communication.

Issue details

Steps to Reproduce

1. Launch driver with use_tool_communication:=true
2. Open I/O panel on PolyScope

Expected Behavior

I/O panel on PolyScope shows "RX Idle Chars: 1.5 / TX Idle Chars: 3.5"

Actual Behavior

I/O panel on PolyScope shows "RX Idle Chars: 2 / TX Idle Chars: 4"

Workaround Suggestion

Patch rx_idle_chars and tx_idle_chars to float type.

Universal_Robots_ROS_Driver/ur_robot_driver/src/hardware_interface.cpp

Lines 250 to 261 in 5407dfe

	int rx_idle_chars;
	// Number of idle chars for the RX unit used for tool communication. Will be set as soon as the UR-Program on the
	// robot is started. Valid values: min=1.0, max=40.0
	//
	// Note: This parameter is only evaluated, when the parameter "use_tool_communication"
	// is set to TRUE. Then, this parameter is required.
	if (!robot_hw_nh.getParam("tool_rx_idle_chars", rx_idle_chars))
	{
	ROS_ERROR_STREAM("Required parameter " << robot_hw_nh.resolveName("tool_rx_idle_chars") << " not given.");
	return false;
	}
	tool_comm_setup->setRxIdleChars(rx_idle_chars);

Universal_Robots_ROS_Driver/ur_robot_driver/src/hardware_interface.cpp

Lines 264 to 275 in 5407dfe

	int tx_idle_chars;
	// Number of idle chars for the TX unit used for tool communication. Will be set as soon as the UR-Program on the
	// robot is started. Valid values: min=0.0, max=40.0
	//
	// Note: This parameter is only evaluated, when the parameter "use_tool_communication"
	// is set to TRUE. Then, this parameter is required.
	if (!robot_hw_nh.getParam("tool_tx_idle_chars", tx_idle_chars))
	{
	ROS_ERROR_STREAM("Required parameter " << robot_hw_nh.resolveName("tool_tx_idle_chars") << " not given.");
	return false;
	}
	tool_comm_setup->setTxIdleChars(tx_idle_chars);

Relevant log output

No response

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[fmauch]

Oh my, this is absolutely correct! I'll provide a fix ASAP.