Adding new Webots Reset Handler Tutorial

source/Tutorials/Advanced/Simulators/Webots/Setting-Up-Simulation-Webots-Advanced.rst

@@ -221,8 +221,6 @@ Next steps
 ----------
 
 You might want to improve the plugin or create new nodes to change the behavior of the robot.
-Taking inspiration from these previous tutorials could be a starting point:
+You can also implement a reset handler to automatically restart your ROS nodes when the simulation is reset from the Webots interface:
 
-* :doc:`../../Recording-A-Bag-From-Your-Own-Node-Py`.
-
-* :doc:`../../../Intermediate/Tf2/Tf2-Main`.
+* :doc:`./Simulation-Reset-Handler`.

source/Tutorials/Advanced/Simulators/Webots/Simulation-Reset-Handler.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+Setting up a Reset Handler
+==========================
+
+**Goal:** Extend a robot simulation with a reset handler to restart nodes when the reset button of Webots is pressed.
+
+**Tutorial level:** Advanced
+
+**Time:** 10 minutes
+
+.. contents:: Contents
+   :depth: 2
+   :local:
+
+Background
+----------
+
+In this tutorial, you will learn how to implement a reset handler in a robot simulation using Webots.
+The Webots reset button reverts the world to the initial state and restarts controllers.
+It is convenient as it quickly resets the simulation, but in the context of ROS 2, robot controllers are not started again making the simulation stop.
+The reset handler allows you to restart specific nodes or perform additional actions when the reset button in Webots is pressed.
+This can be useful for scenarios where you need to reset the state of your simulation or restart specific components without completely restarting the complete ROS system.
+
+Prerequisites
+-------------
+
+Before proceeding with this tutorial, make sure you have completed the following:
+
+- Understanding of ROS 2 nodes and topics covered in the beginner :doc:`../../../../Tutorials`.
+- Knowledge of Webots and ROS 2 and its interface package.
+- Familiarity with :doc:`./Setting-Up-Simulation-Webots-Basic`.
+
+
+Reset Handler for Simple Cases (Controllers Only)
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+In the launch file of your package, add the ``respawn`` parameter.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+  def generate_launch_description():
+      robot_driver = WebotsController(
+          robot_name='my_robot',
+          parameters=[
+              {'robot_description': robot_description_path}
+          ],
+
+          # Every time one resets the simulation the controller is automatically respawned
+          respawn=True
+      )
+
+      # Starts Webots
+      webots = WebotsLauncher(world=PathJoinSubstitution([package_dir, 'worlds', world]))
+
+      return LaunchDescription([
+          webots,
+          robot_driver
+      ])
+
+On reset, Webots kills all driver nodes.
+Therefore, to start them again after reset, you should set the ``respawn`` property of the driver node to ``True``.
+It will ensure driver nodes are up and running after the reset.
+
+Reset Handler for Multiple Nodes (No Shutdown Required)
+-------------------------------------------------------
+
+If you have some other nodes that have to be started along with the driver node (e.g. ``ros2_control`` nodes), then you can use the ``OnProcessExit`` event handler:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+  def get_ros2_control_spawners(*args):
+      # Declare here all nodes that must be restarted at simulation reset
+      ros_control_node = Node(
+          package='controller_manager',
+          executable='spawner',
+          arguments=['diffdrive_controller']
+      )
+      return [
+          ros_control_node
+      ]
+
+  def generate_launch_description():
+      robot_driver = WebotsController(
+          robot_name='my_robot',
+          parameters=[
+              {'robot_description': robot_description_path}
+          ],
+
+          # Every time one resets the simulation the controller is automatically respawned
+          respawn=True
+      )
+
+      # Starts Webots
+      webots = WebotsLauncher(world=PathJoinSubstitution([package_dir, 'worlds', world]))
+
+      # Declare the reset handler that respawns nodes when robot_driver exits
+      reset_handler = launch.actions.RegisterEventHandler(
+          event_handler=launch.event_handlers.OnProcessExit(
+              target_action=robot_driver,
+              on_exit=get_ros2_control_spawners,
+          )
+      )
+
+      return LaunchDescription([
+          webots,
+          robot_driver,
+          reset_handler
+      ] + get_ros2_control_spawners())
+
+It is not possible to use the ``respawn`` property on the ``ros2_control`` node, as the spawner exits during launch time and not when the simulation is reset.
+Instead we should declare a list of nodes in a function (e.g. ``get_ros2_control_spawners``).
+The nodes of this list are started along other nodes when executing the launch file.
+With the ``reset_handler``, the function is also declared as action to start when the ``robot_driver`` node exits, which corresponds to the moment when the simulation is reset in the Webots interface.
+The ``robot_driver`` node still has the ``respawn`` property set to ``True``, so that it gets restarted along with ``ros2_control`` nodes.
+
+Reset Handler Requiring Node Shutdown
+-------------------------------------
+
+With the current ROS 2 launch API, there is no way to make the reset work in launch files where nodes need to be shutdown before the restart (e.g. ``Nav2`` or ``RViz``).
+The reason is that currently, ROS 2 doesn't allow to shutdown specific nodes from a launch file.
+There is a solution, but it requires to manually restart nodes after pushing the reset button.
+
+Webots needs to be started in a specific launch file without other nodes.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+  def generate_launch_description():
+      # Starts Webots
+      webots = WebotsLauncher(world=PathJoinSubstitution([package_dir, 'worlds', world]))
+
+      return LaunchDescription([
+          webots
+      ])
+
+
+A second launch file must be started from another process.
+This launch file contains all other nodes, including robot controllers/plugins, Navigation2 nodes, RViz, state publishers, etc.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+  def generate_launch_description():
+      robot_driver = WebotsController(
+          robot_name='my_robot',
+          parameters=[
+              {'robot_description': robot_description_path}
+          ]
+      )
+
+      ros_control_node = Node(
+          package='controller_manager',
+          executable='spawner',
+          arguments=['diffdrive_controller']
+      )
+
+      nav2_node = IncludeLaunchDescription(
+          PythonLaunchDescriptionSource(os.path.join(
+              get_package_share_directory('nav2_bringup'), 'launch', 'bringup_launch.py')),
+          launch_arguments=[
+              ('map', nav2_map),
+              ('params_file', nav2_params),
+          ],
+      )
+
+      rviz = Node(
+          package='rviz2',
+          executable='rviz2',
+          output='screen'
+      )
+
+      # Declare the handler that shuts all nodes down when robot_driver exits
+      shutdown_handler = launch.actions.RegisterEventHandler(
+          event_handler=launch.event_handlers.OnProcessExit(
+              target_action=robot_driver,
+              on_exit=[launch.actions.EmitEvent(event=launch.events.Shutdown())],
+          )
+      )
+
+      return LaunchDescription([
+          robot_driver,
+          ros_control_node,
+          nav2_node,
+          rviz,
+          shutdown_handler
+      ])
+
+The second launch file contains a handler that triggers a shutdown event when the driver node exits (which is the case when the simulation is reset).
+This second launch file must be manually restarted from the command line after pressing the reset button.
+
+Summary
+-------
+
+In this tutorial, you learned how to implement a reset handler in a robot simulation using Webots.
+The reset handler allows you to restart specific nodes or perform additional actions when the reset button in Webots is pressed.
+You explored different approaches based on the complexity of your simulation and the requirements of your nodes.

source/Tutorials/Advanced/Simulators/Webots/Simulation-Webots.rst

@@ -15,3 +15,4 @@ This set of tutorials will teach you how to configure the Webots simulator with
    Installation-MacOS
    Setting-Up-Simulation-Webots-Basic
    Setting-Up-Simulation-Webots-Advanced
+   Simulation-Reset-Handler