Disambiguation: ROS packages depending on your ROS version

As of ROS Distribution NOETIC we have made available a re-designed ROS package allowing the access to a much more of the Robot hand's features and integration with FTS sensors.
The instructions on this page refer to this new version.

For earlier versions, and for archival reference, you may access the old Instructions here: Original ROS package and Instructions

First and foremost, please clone our Github repository located at https://github.com/seedrobotics/ros_robothands

You will also need to have your Seed Robotics units connected via the main interface (at the back of the hand). There are a number of connection possibilities.
Your hand will likely have shipped with the connecting cable sorganized so it should be pretty straightforward to power on the unit and connect it to the PC.

The Github repository contains the source code as well as examples on using the multiple features available in our hands and made available by the package.

Instructions on how to get started and to use the different packages are available directly on the Github page. This way we are able to maintain an updated and aggregated resource.

Below is a summary of pointers:

• Source code: clone our Github project https://github.com/seedrobotics/ros_robothands
• Setup instructions: refer to the Github project pages where you will find the most up to date instructions
• Examples: same as above (on our Githuib project page)
  
  
• If you are using the robot hand only (without the FTS sensors), use the “seed_robotics” package as per the instructions on the Git project
• If you are using the robot hand WITH the FTS sensors, use the package “sensor_pkg” to enable FTS sensor support and interaction with the hand control, once again, as per the instructions.

• You need one USB interface dedicate to EACH hand for best performance. This is due to the large amount fo information retrieved to enable access to all advanced functionalities. \\If you absolutely must use two hands one the same USB interface, your must enable the light_mode parameter in the lauch file. Once more, the Guthub documentation provides further explanation on this.
• If you are using any FTDI based USB to Serial converter (which most of these are), make sure to adjust the Latency Timer of the driver to 1ms. This is also explaine din the Github instructions. Failing to do so will result in timeouts and similar errors.

Should you have any specific question or integration issue, get in touch with support@seedrobotics.com.