Remove type and name from ProcessorParamsBase and IntrinsicsBase

It is now duplicated in installSensor and installProcessor API

Why? Type and name are cool, aren't they?

They are Sensor/ProcessorBase attributes that are set in installSensor/Processor, why do we need it included in the structs ProcessorsParamsBase/IntrinsicsBase? They are duplicated now, so they can be set different :S

I see. Yes they are duplicated but they should match. the params structs are a means for specifying things so they should be copied in the Sen/Prc objects after construction.

Type is tricky, and should match the Sen/Prc type (e.g. "CAMERA", "ODOM 2D", etc).

Name is less important, but sensor names are used to automatically associate processors to them, so they must also be chosen carefully and uniquely.

If there are two specs clashing, then a priority should be established, and the low priority instance should be overwritten.

I think values passed to Prb->installXxx() must take priority over those coming from the YAML files.

Maybe these explanations are incomplete, but this would be the idea.

This is not critical at all... I know.

But if the sensor name is included in InstrinsicsBase, why has it to be provided as parameter in the installSensor()?

Maybe, we should do the opposite I propose in the title of the issue: remove type and name from the intallers...

For instance, one of the current installSensor implementations:

SensorBasePtr Problem::installSensor(const std::string& _sen_type,
                                     const std::string& _unique_sensor_name,
                                     const Eigen::VectorXs& _extrinsics,
                                     IntrinsicsBasePtr _intrinsics)
{
    SensorBasePtr sen_ptr = SensorFactory::get().create(uppercase(_sen_type), _unique_sensor_name, _extrinsics, _intrinsics);
    addSensor(sen_ptr);
    return sen_ptr;
} 

Could be changed to:

SensorBasePtr Problem::installSensor(Eigen::VectorXs& _extrinsics,
                                     IntrinsicsBasePtr _intrinsics)
{
    SensorBasePtr sen_ptr = SensorFactory::get().create(uppercase(_intrinsics->type), _intrinsics->name, _extrinsics, _intrinsics);
    addSensor(sen_ptr);
    return sen_ptr;
} 

Then, name and type are only specified in one place.

The thing is: the intrinsics yaml file can be re-used for different projects. It's just the same sensor installed in different robots. Then, the name of the sensor can be changed from one installation to anothre. For example, "camera_left" can be "camera_right" in another project. This is why I suggest installXxx() to take priority.

I see.. However, this issue is quite related with the plugins/autoconfiguration new feature. I don't see how your example fits in this new paradigm.

created branch 164-remove-type-and-name-from-processorparamsbase-and-intrinsicsbase

mentioned in merge request !244 (merged)

closed