Slamcore CLI
The Slamcore command line tools are installed via the Slamcore Tools package for your chosen platforms. There are three CLI applications:
slamcore_dataset_recorder_clislamcore_dataset_compressorslamcore_dataset_processor
Note
Run the tool(s) with --help-all for more information and options.
Dataset Recorder CLI
Note
It is possible to record a dataset whilst running live SLAM. See Dataset Recording during a SLAM Run for more information.
To record a dataset using your camera without using a GUI, run the following from a terminal window:
$ slamcore_dataset_recorder_cli -o <output/directory>
Ctrl + c to stop recording.
Command-Line Options
At start-up, the Slamcore Dataset Recorder accepts the following command-line options:
- -h,--help
Print this help message and exit
- --help-all
Expand all help
- -v,--version
Display the version
- -c,--config-file :FILE ...
Path to the configuration file(s)
- -o,--output-dir REQUIRED
Path to the directory to generate the recorded dataset
RealSense Subcommand Options
The following options only apply to RealSense cameras.
- realsense
Detect RealSense camera
- --dev,--device
Integer device index for multiple reader types
- --color,--no-color
Enable or disable the colour stream
- --ir,--no-ir
Enable or disable the infrared stream
Dataset Compressor
The dataset compressor is a command line tool that allows PNG compression in a recorded dataset, and thus saves storage space on your machine. The generated compressed dataset will take up less space and will still be processable by the Slamcore SLAM software.
To compress a dataset, run the following from a terminal window:
$ slamcore_dataset_compressor -l <level> -j <jobs> -u <path/to/dataset> -o <output/dir>
Note
When processing a compressed dataset, a slightly higher CPU consumption is expected due to the “uncompress” step.
The -l flag allows you to set the compression level. We suggest a
compression level of -l 3 as it tends to reduce datasets to 1/3 of
the size without impacting decoding time for processing.
The -j flag allows you to set the number of simultaneous CPU threads used to
compress the dataset. This can be set to nproc if no other applications are
running on the machine (see nproc Linux manual page):
$ slamcore_dataset_compressor -j $(nproc) -l 3 -u <path/to/dataset> -o <output/dir>
Or a recommended half of nproc during normal CPU usage:
$ num_procs=$(nproc)
$ slamcore_dataset_compressor -j $((num_procs / 2)) -l 3 -u <path/to/dataset> -o <output/dir>
Command-Line Options
At start-up, the Slamcore Dataset Processor accepts the following command-line options:
- -h,--help
Print this help message and exit
- -u, --euroc-dataset TEXT:DIR
Path to dataset directory
- -o,--output-dir TEXT REQUIRED
Path to output dataset directory
- -j INT
How many threads to use (uses all if not specified)
- --delete-src BOOLEAN
Delete source directory after successful compression
- -l,--compression-level INT
PNG compression level (0 = no compression to 9 = best compression) (set to
3if not specified)
Dataset Processor
The dataset processor is a command line tool that generates a session map from the SLAM run and saves the trajectories in CSV files, without using a GUI. This allows for more systematic evaluation of our tracking/positioning system. The optimised and unoptimised trajectories are recorded in two separate CSV files (more details in the Guide to Trajectories).
$ slamcore_dataset_processor dataset -u <path/to/dataset> -o
<output/directory>
Starting Slamcore Dataset Processor...
[00:10] OK | Distance [m]: 1.28 | XYZ [m] -0.52 0.45 0.76
[00:21] OK | Distance [m]: 4.44 | XYZ [m] -0.32 -0.04 0.15
[00:30] OK | Distance [m]: 7.31 | XYZ [m] -0.27 -0.04 0.23
[00:39] OK | Distance [m]: 10.31 | XYZ [m] -0.33 0.03 0.27
[00:46] OK | Distance [m]: 12.79 | XYZ [m] -0.59 0.30 0.53
[00:53] OK | Distance [m]: 15.15 | XYZ [m] -1.87 0.17 0.33
[01:01] OK | Distance [m]: 17.69 | XYZ [m] -1.31 0.53 0.27
[01:10] OK | Distance [m]: 20.11 | XYZ [m] -0.57 0.41 0.52
[01:18] OK | Distance [m]: 22.63 | XYZ [m] -0.85 0.48 0.61
[01:24] OK | Distance [m]: 24.59 | XYZ [m] -1.30 0.55 0.28
[01:31] OK | Distance [m]: 26.33 | XYZ [m] -1.40 0.38 0.28
[01:38] OK | Distance [m]: 27.89 | XYZ [m] -1.22 0.59 0.27
[01:45] OK | Distance [m]: 29.83 | XYZ [m] 0.01 -0.03 0.02
Done.
Saving trajectories to "<output/directory>"...Done.
Please check the logs at:
/tmp/slamcore_dataset_processor.*
The dataset processor is able to process data from either a live camera feed or a recorded dataset.
SLAM, Localisation, Mapping and Odometry Mode
There are four main ways to run our system:
Mode |
Description |
|---|---|
A sparse map is built on the go, without any prior knowledge about the environment. |
|
Use a sparse map previously created in SLAM mode. |
|
Build a height and occupancy map for autonomous navigation. |
|
Positioning without using a map. See Positioning Mode to use this mode. |
SLAM Mode
Run SLAM on a Live Camera feed
To run in live SLAM mode, where a sparse map is built on the go, from the terminal window run:
$ slamcore_dataset_processor -o <output/directory> -s
Ctrl + c to stop the SLAM session. A session file and the optimised and
unoptimised trajectories will be saved in the specified output directory.
If no -s flag is provided, no session file will be generated.
Note
The optimised trajectories differ when the -s flag is and isn’t
provided when saving a session.
Run SLAM on a recorded dataset
To run the dataset processor on a prerecorded dataset, use the dataset
subcommand and specify the dataset to use with the -u flag.
$ slamcore_dataset_processor dataset -u <path/to/dataset> -o <output/directory> -s
Localisation Mode
Note
In localisation mode, no optimised trajectory or session file will be generated, only a CSV file of the unoptimised trajectory.
Warning
Slamcore SDK v23.01 brings several breaking changes, one of them being the
session file format. Session files (.session) generated using older
software versions (v21.06) will no longer be usable with v23.01 and above. You
may use the new software to generate a new session file if you have retained the
original dataset.
Please contact support@slamcore.com, providing your Slamcore account email address, if you require access to the v21.06 SDK packages and its supporting documentation to use in conjunction with your old session files.
Live Localisation
To run the dataset processor on a previously created map, load a session file
with the -l flag.
$ slamcore_dataset_processor -l <path/to/session/file> -o <output/directory>
Localisation using a recorded dataset
To run SLAM on a recorded dataset using a previously created map, use the
dataset subcommand, specify the dataset and session file to use with the
-u and -l flag respectively.
$ slamcore_dataset_processor dataset -u <path/to/dataset> -l <path/to/session/file> -o <output/directory>
Height Mapping Mode
Live Mapping
To generate a height map with a live camera feed, enable session saving and map
generation with the -s and -m flags respectively:
$ slamcore_dataset_processor -m -s -o <output/directory>
Mapping using a prerecorded dataset
To generate a height/occupancy map from a dataset that contains depth information, run:
$ slamcore_dataset_processor dataset -u <path/to/dataset> -m -s -o <output/directory>
Dataset Recording during a SLAM Run
The dataset processor also supports recording a dataset while simultaneously
running SLAM on a live camera. To do so, specify the directory to write the
dataset to with the --dataset-write-dir flag:
$ slamcore_visualiser --dataset-write-dir </output/directory>
Note
Recording a dataset while simultaneously running SLAM on a live camera is compatible with any of the Slamcore software modes: SLAM, Localisation, Mapping and Odometry Mode.
Command-Line Options
At start-up, the Slamcore Dataset Processor accepts the following command-line options:
- -h,--help
Print this help message and exit
- --help-all
Expand all help
- -v,--version
Display the version
- -c,--config-file :FILE ...
Path to the configuration file(s)
- -l,--load-session :FILE
Path to the session file to load
- -o,--output-dir DIR REQUIRED
Path to output directory
- -s,--save-session Excludes: --load-session
Generate session (“-s” to enable)
- --dataset-write-dir
Directory to write dataset to
- -m,--generate-map2d
Produce a new 2D map (depth stream must be enabled
--depth)
Dataset Subcommand Options
The dataset subcommand allows dataset processing via the Slamcore Dataset Processor tool.
$ slamcore_dataset_processor dataset -u <path/to/dataset> -o <output/directory> -s
- -u,--euroc-dataset :DIR
Dataset reader path
- --ts,--timescale FLOAT
Timescale for dataset reader, for real time processing set to 1.0
RealSense Subcommand Options
The following options only apply to RealSense cameras.
- realsense
Detect RealSense camera
- --dev,--device
Integer device index for multiple reader types
- --color,--no-color
Enable or disable the colour stream
- --ir,--no-ir
Enable or disable the infrared stream