tesseract-robotics/tesseract

What it solves

Tesseract provides a lightweight planning framework for robotics, offering a set of core tools to manage robot environments, kinematics, and collision checking without requiring a heavy dependency load. It aims to be ROS-agnostic, allowing it to be used across different platforms and languages (C++ and Python).

How it works

The framework is organized into several specialized packages:

• Environment & Scene Graph: Manages the connectivity of objects, links, and joints in the robot's environment using a scene graph data structure.
• Kinematics: Provides interfaces for Forward and Inverse kinematics for chains, trees, and graphs.
• Collision Checking: Implements both continuous and discrete collision checking for various shape types using libraries like Bullet and FCL.
• Geometry: Handles primitive shapes, meshes, convex hulls, and signed distance fields.
• Command Language: Includes a generic command language for motion and process planning, similar to industrial teach pendants.

Who it’s for

Robotics developers and engineers who need a flexible, lightweight framework for motion planning, kinematics, and environment management, particularly those working in industrial settings or across different operating systems (Linux and Windows).

Highlights

• ROS Agnostic: Core packages can function independently of the Robot Operating System (ROS).
• Cross-Platform: Full support for Windows 10+ and Ubuntu (20.04, 22.04).
• Python Support: Available as a self-contained PyPI package for easy installation.
• Comprehensive Tooling: Includes built-in visualization utilities and a setup wizard.