Contributing to Voxblox¶

These steps are only necessary if you plan on contributing to voxblox.

Code style¶

We follow the style and best practices listed in the Google C++ Style Guide.

Setting up the linter¶

This sets up a linter which checks if the code conforms to our style guide during commits.

First, install the dependencies listed here.

cd ~/catkin_ws/src/
git clone git@github.com:ethz-asl/linter.git
cd linter
echo ". $(realpath setup_linter.sh)" >> ~/.bashrc  # Or the matching file for
                                                   # your shell.
bash

# Initialize linter in voxblox repo
cd ~/catkin_ws/src/voxblox
init_linter_git_hooks

For more information about the linter visit ethz/linter

Modifying Voxblox¶

Here’s some hints on how to extend voxblox to fit your needs…

Serialization¶

Serialization is currently implemented for:

TSDF layers
ESDF layers
Occupancy layers

The following serialization tools are implemented:

Store a layer to file
Load layer from file
Store a subset of the blocks of a layer to file
Load blocks from file and add to a layer

How to add your own voxel/layer type¶

Add your own voxel type and implement the getVoxelType(), e.g. fancy_voxel.h :

namespace voxblox {

// Used for serialization only.
namespace voxel_types {
 const std::string kYOUR_FANCY_VOXEL = "fancy_voxel"
}  // namespace voxel_types

template <>
inline std::string getVoxelType<YOUR_FANCY_VOXEL>() {
 return voxel_types::kYOUR_FANCY_VOXEL;
}

}  // namespace voxblox

Implement the block (de)serialization functions for your voxel type, e.g. fancy_block_serialization.cc

namespace voxblox {

template <>
void Block<YOUR_FANCY_VOXEL>::DeserializeVoxelData(const BlockProto& proto,
                                            YOUR_FANCY_VOXEL* voxels) {
// Your serialization code.
}

template <>
void Block<YOUR_FANCY_VOXEL>::SerializeVoxelData(const YOUR_FANCY_VOXEL* voxels,
                                          BlockProto* proto) const {
// Your serialization code.
}

}  // namespace voxblox

Create your own fancy_integrator.h, fancy_mesh_integrator.h, …

Have a look at the example package:

TODO(mfehr, helenol): add example package with a new voxel type