<transmission> element

The transmission element is an extension to the URDF robot description model. This extension is only used for the PR2 robot, and is not meant to be reusable for other robots. Transmissions link actuators to joints. Multiple actuators may be linked to multiple joints through a complex transmission.

Here is an example of a transmission element:

   1 <transmission type="SimpleTransmission" name="caster_front_left_trans">
   2   <actuator name="caster_front_left_motor" />
   3   <joint name="caster_front_left_joint" />
   4   <mechanicalReduction>1</mechanicalReduction>
   5 </transmission>

Attributes

The transmission element has two attributes:

• name (required)

  • Specifies the unique name of a transmission

  type

  • Specifies the transmission type. Currently, the mechanism control parser supports a SimpleTransmission, a PR2GripperTransmission and a PR2WristTransmission.

Elements

The transmission has the following elements:

• <actuator>

  • This is the actuator the transmission is connected to. The actuator is specified by its name.

  <joint>

  • This is the joint the transmission is connected to. The joint is specified by its name.

  <mechanicalReduction>

  • Specifies a value for overall mechanical reduction at the joint/actuator transmission.