Getting started with depth sensors

Using standard cameras is not possible to obtain information about the distance between the framed objects and the sensor. This makes these sensors unsuitable for many robotics tasks like object grasping, in which it is good to estimate the full pose of the object to manipulate, or obstacle avoidance, in which the distance from the obstacle is fundamental to performing safe navigation. For this scope, a different kind of sensor can be used: the depth sensor. Depth sensors are like cameras in terms of size and payload. They are compact devices and can be attached to the robot computer with a USB connector. Unlike cameras, these devices measure the distance to objects in their environment, providing depth information that enhances perception capabilities in robotics. Common types include LiDAR or time-of-flight sensors. These sensors are well integrated with ROS 2. Depth sensors publish depth in two formats:

• Disparity matrix: Exactly like...