RViz ignores 'joint_limits.yaml' in MoveIt Config when using moveit_rviz default launch file

[Dabuss]

Description:

I encountered an issue where RViz ignores the joint limits specified in the joint_limits.yaml file within the MoveIt configuration package when launching using the default launch files generated by the MoveIt2 Setup Assistant.

Steps to Reproduce:

(On branch humble)

• Create a MoveIt2 configuration package using the Setup Assistant.
• Define custom joint limits in the joint_limits.yaml file within the config directory.
• Notice how these joint_limits are ignored by looking at rviz parameters

Observed Behavior:

In my case, Motion planning within RViz results in unexpectedly large joint movements. Upon further inspection, it appears that RViz is using the same joint limits as in the URDF (in my case, a UR10e robot with 720° angle ranges), rather than the limits specified in joint_limits.yaml present in the moveit_config of my robot package.
My move_group node (whose launch file was also created with the setup assistant), however, uses the values from the local joint_limit.yaml file.

Expected Behavior:

I believe the RViz motion planning plugin should use the same joint limits as the move_group's when performing motion planning.

My Solution:

I modified the generate_moveit_rviz_launch function to include the joint limits in the node parameters passed to RViz. Here is the reimplementation of the function:

from launch import LaunchDescription
from launch.actions import DeclareLaunchArgument
from launch.substitutions import LaunchConfiguration
from moveit_configs_utils import MoveItConfigsBuilder

def generate_moveit_rviz_launch_using_joint_limits(moveit_config):
    ld = LaunchDescription()

    ld.add_action(DeclareBooleanLaunchArg("debug", default_value=False))
    ld.add_action(
        DeclareLaunchArgument(
            "rviz_config",
            default_value=str(moveit_config.package_path / "config/moveit.rviz"),
        )
    )

    rviz_parameters = [
        moveit_config.planning_pipelines,
        moveit_config.robot_description_kinematics,
        moveit_config.robot_description_joint_limits  # Added joint limits here
    ]

    add_debuggable_node(
        ld,
        package="rviz2",
        executable="rviz2",
        output="log",
        respawn=False,
        arguments=["-d", LaunchConfiguration("rviz_config")],
        parameters=rviz_parameters,
    )

    return ld

Question:

Is this behavior intentional, or is it an oversight that RViz does not use the joint limits from joint_limits.yaml? Should the default generate_moveit_rviz_launch function be updated to include these limits, or is there another recommended approach?

Thank you for your assistance!

[github-actions]

This issue is being labeled as stale because it has been open 45 days with no activity. It will be automatically closed after another 45 days without follow-ups.

[m-elwin]

I was having this same issue and created a PR #3901. My solution was basically the same as @Dabuss although it seems like robot_description_joint_limits became just joint_limits at some point.

[mikeferguson]

This is fixed in main - I just started the back port to humble in #3136