Have a single configuration file to increase the feedback rate of a specific robot

[gabrielenava]

Recently in the AMI group we tried to increase the rate at which our iCub is controlled.

To do so, it is necessary at the moment to manually modify several configuration files in robots-configuration, for example:

• https://github.com/robotology/robots-configuration/tree/master/iCubGenova04/hardware/FT
• https://github.com/robotology/robots-configuration/tree/master/iCubGenova04/hardware/inertials
• https://github.com/robotology/robots-configuration/tree/master/iCubGenova04/hardware/electronics
• https://github.com/robotology/robots-configuration/tree/master/iCubGenova04/wrappers/motorControl
• https://github.com/robotology/robots-configuration/tree/master/iCubGenova04/wrappers/FT
• https://github.com/robotology/robots-configuration/tree/master/iCubGenova04/wrappers/inertials

(how many files one needs to modify depends on which information need to be streamed at an higher rate).

It would be nice (and less error-prone) to have, if possible, a single configuration file from which the user can set the rate of all sensors (e.g. FT, IMU), boards and wrappers.

cc @pattacini @DanielePucci @maggia80 @marcoaccame @traversaro

[pattacini]

cc @randaz81 @Nicogene @vtikha

[traversaro]

I think a nice way to handle this would be to extend the variable expansion capability in yarprobotinterface XML files, i.e. similar to what we did in robotology/yarp#2819 but with the possibility of specifying arbitrary variables. In this way we could define a single variable (or few variables) in the yarprobotinteface file, and then in all the specific configuration files we refer to that variable.

[pattacini]

Nice!

[randaz81]

Actually, this functionality is already available through something like:

<param extern-name="externalized-param" name="my-param1"> 10 </param>
<param extern-name="externalized-param" name="my-param2"> 20 </param>

Then yarprobotinterface --config test.xml --externalized-param 30 sets to 30 both my-param1 and my-param2