The XBox Kinect is a surprisingly great sensor that is also really cheap. The combination of the two factors makes it a great sensor to use in Robotics research as an interface for human robot interaction. However, it’s a bit difficult to interface with due to the complicated install process, so this post will walk through the steps of installing OpenNI dependencies for use on ROS Indigo and Ubuntu 14.04.
Unfortunately, NiTE is now proprietary software, so I hope you’ve either found a cached version of it elsewhere, or have found a replacement gesture recognition suite. If so, let me know too please! 😀
Here are the steps:
1. Open terminal and do an apt-cache search of libopenni and install both the -dev and 0 libraries.
2. Clone openni_camera and openni_launch from Github into your catkin_ws/src and catkin_make in the workspace folder.
git clone https://github.com/ros-drivers/openni_launch
git clone https://github.com/ros-drivers/openni_camera
cd ..
catkin_make
catkin_make install
3. Connect the Kinect, and run the openni_launch file
roslaunch openni_launch openni.launch
If the above steps fail, go to this repo and cd into the Bin folder and extract the relevant file
cd Bin
tar xjf SensorKinect093-Bin-Linux-x64-v5.1.2.1.tar.bz2
cd Sensor-Bin-Linux-x64-v5.1.2.1
./install.sh
4. Test out your build by running
Now you should be able to successfully launch openni and listen to all the outputs of the Kinect! You may need to run camera calibration scripts to get ride of edge distortions and the like, but the camera should be all set to go.
—
Edit 6/24/16
Comments are now closed to prevent spam. Please email me directly at hello@justsophie.com if you’d like help. Thanks!
roslaunch openni_launch openni.launch
it is showing warning regarding calibration and .yml file not found
Camera calibration file /home/aditya/.ros/camera_info/rgb_0000000000000000.yaml not found.
That’s expected, since you’ve never calibrated the camera before. The code should still work. However, if you follow camera calibrations on the ROS website, that error should go away. I think it’s this one: http://wiki.ros.org/camera_calibration
Hello. I followed your entire tutorial and installed the drivers. But im still getting errors, such as ,” process[camera_base_link3-24]: started with pid [15197]
[ INFO] [1485334983.161246088]: No devices connected…. waiting for devices to be connected”
Im using ROS indigo ubuntu 14.04.
I installed libfreenect2 and ran the test and kinect was working (https://github.com/wiedemeyer/libfreenect2). Kindly advise on this matter.
hi , I’m kind of new to linux, I have the same error that you had, you putet libfreenect2 link on github, I dont know how to install it, anyone can help me please
recently they made a change that would not support xbox 360 kinect. you can use only freenect_launch package.
Oh, I had no idea that happened. One could checkout an older commit to the openni2 repo and still retain that compatibility if necessary.
Hi. I have a one question.
I want to open two kinects.
but, don’t know how to do it.
If you know how to do it, please help me.
I’ve never tried this myself, but my first approach would be to modify the launch file found here on line 16. Currently it uses the default usb bus to launch the kinect, but you could either make it so one launch file launches both kinects by checking two usb buses, or making two launch files that launch from the separate ports.
Thank you for your answer.
As you said, I corrected the two things in the launch file and made two launch files.
line 6:
line 16:
Then, one launch file was running well, but one of the following errors was called.
https://1drv.ms/t/s!AmXPqPOUmAopg45hbuTTywTsUuTGNw
line 6:
launch1 file: arg name=”camera” default=”camera1″
launch2 file: arg name=”camera” default=”camera2″
line 16:
launch1 file: arg name=”device_id” default=”3@5″
launch2 file: arg name=”device_id” default=”1@11″
mm…
Find a way to open two kinects, run launch2, and then run launch1. WHY??!
In order to find the reason, I changed the usbport connected to launch2 and changed the kinect connected to launch2. But I don’t know why.
Oh, that’s really interesting! Looking around, it appears that if you have two Kinects connected to the same USB bus, then the launch will be unresponsive.
It seems like you’ve solved the problem already, but according to that link I just posted, running multiple Kinects on the same computer does look feasible given that they are on different USB buses.
hy thanks for such a helping blog 🙂 i run all the commands correctly but it give error message at last command of launching openni .kindly suggest me solution
Hey Rida,
Glad I could help! But I’ll need more info to give you debug info. Can you paste the important parts of the error message here?
while i am cloning github files i get the following error
unable to access ‘https://github.com/ros-drivers/openni_launch/’: server certificate verification failed. CAfile: /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt CRLfile: none
what is this problem
That would be something internal to your system. Git clone shouldn’t mess up like that. What commands are you using? Try:
git clone https://github.com/ros-drivers/openni_launchhello sophie,
first thank you very much . your blog is very helpful thanks a lot . but when roslaunch openni_launch openni.launch . the error happens .
.. logging to /home/erxiao/.ros/log/746b76e6-1863-11e6-bbef-c018853a43cd/roslaunch-erxiao-ZBOXNANO-ID62-6586.log
Checking log directory for disk usage. This may take awhile.
Press Ctrl-C to interrupt
Done checking log file disk usage. Usage is <1GB.
unused args [depth_registered_filtered] for include of [/opt/ros/indigo/share/rgbd_launch/launch/includes/processing.launch.xml]
The traceback for the exception was written to the log file
can you help me ?
Hmm, I’ll need more parts of the error message to be sure, but I think it has to do with a package or two missing from your ROS package path, or it not properly detecting the connected kinect.
Can you post the entire output from when you run roslaunch openni_launch openni.launch?
hi:
at first ,the error tells me i have no openni2.
so i
sudo apt-get install ros-indigo-openni2-launch
then:
erxiao@erxiao-Aspire-V3-5710G:~/catkin_ws$ source install/setup.bash
erxiao@erxiao-Aspire-V3-5710G:~/catkin_ws$ roslaunch openni_launch openni.launch… logging to /home/erxiao/.ros/log/85972da8-18b7-11e6-9042-08edb9f5d8e9/roslaunch-erxiao-Aspire-V3-5710G-2707.log
Checking log directory for disk usage. This may take awhile.
Press Ctrl-C to interrupt
Done checking log file disk usage. Usage is <1GB.
unused args [depth_registered_filtered] for include of [/opt/ros/indigo/share/rgbd_launch/launch/includes/processing.launch.xml]
The traceback for the exception was written to the log file
erxiao@erxiao-Aspire-V3-5710G:~/catkin_ws$
there are whole errors..
Huh, that’s interesting, I don’t think I’ve seen this error before.
From what I can gather, it does seem like the problem is with missing packages. After running
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
Try directly installing rgbd-launch.
sudo apt-get install ros-indigo-rgbd-launch
If that doesn’t work, you could try directly installing the two openni packages via apt-get:
sudo apt-get install ros-indigo-openni-camera
sudo apt-get install ros-indigo-openni-launch
Good luck, hope this helps :/
anyway thanks very much !
lifesaver 😀
Glad I could help 🙂
Ha~I encountered with this problem too, and I found a way to deal with it.Just open the file /opt/ros/indigo/share/openni_launch/launch/openni.launch,and find this line:” “,then delete it(not recommended) or annotate it,and save!
Of course,the system may not allows you to change this file,so you might need use this sentence to do it:
$ sudo nautilus
Oh, the key words are missing…
well,you need to annotate the line in oppeni.launch with “depth_registered_filtered”,as this arg is said “unused”,so just annotate it.
hello sophie,
many thanks for this blog,
please can you tell me how i can calibrate my Kinect , i did the intrinsic calibration , but i have problem with extrinsic calibration ,
please help me
I can try my best to help! But I’ll need a bit more information. What’s the problem with your extrinsic calibration? What are the error messages?
You rock!
i m looking for help to install kinect xbox one drivers on ubuntu 14.04 … Please help me … i shall be thankful to you
Sure, what’s wrong? Can you post the error messages?
Kinect from the Xbox One isn’t officially supported, but there is an experimental branch on the OpenNI2 repo here.
i get this error.
quang@duonggia:~/catkin_ws/src/SensorKinect/Bin/Sensor-Bin-Linux-x64-v5.1.2.1$ ./install.sh
Installing PrimeSense Sensor
****************************
creating config dir /usr/etc/primesense…mkdir: cannot create directory ‘/usr/etc’: Permission denied
Try running the command again, but this time use sudo.
i.e:
sudo ./install.sh
I also get this error
quang@duonggia:~/catkin_ws/src/openni_launch/launch$ roslaunch openni.launch
… logging to /home/quang/.ros/log/3238b6b0-ed2c-11e5-81e7-b0104140e883/roslaunch-duonggia-28041.log
Checking log directory for disk usage. This may take awhile.
Press Ctrl-C to interrupt
Done checking log file disk usage. Usage is <1GB.
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/__init__.py", line 307, in main
p.start()
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/parent.py", line 268, in start
self._start_infrastructure()
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/parent.py", line 217, in _start_infrastructure
self._load_config()
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/parent.py", line 132, in _load_config
roslaunch_strs=self.roslaunch_strs, verbose=self.verbose)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/config.py", line 451, in load_config_default
loader.load(f, config, verbose=verbose)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/xmlloader.py", line 730, in load
self._load_launch(launch, ros_config, is_core=core, filename=filename, argv=argv, verbose=verbose)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/xmlloader.py", line 702, in _load_launch
self._recurse_load(ros_config, launch.childNodes, self.root_context, None, is_core, verbose)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/xmlloader.py", line 636, in _recurse_load
default_machine, is_core, verbose)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/xmlloader.py", line 666, in _recurse_load
val = self._include_tag(tag, context, ros_config, default_machine, is_core, verbose)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/xmlloader.py", line 95, in call
return f(*args, **kwds)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/xmlloader.py", line 587, in _include_tag
inc_filename = self.resolve_args(tag.attributes['file'].value, context)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/xmlloader.py", line 183, in resolve_args
return substitution_args.resolve_args(args, context=context.resolve_dict, resolve_anon=self.resolve_anon)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/substitution_args.py", line 312, in resolve_args
resolved = _resolve_args(resolved, context, resolve_anon, commands)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/substitution_args.py", line 325, in _resolve_args
resolved = commands[command](resolved, a, args, context)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/substitution_args.py", line 141, in _find
source_path_to_packages=source_path_to_packages)
File "/opt/ros/indigo/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/roslaunch/substitution_args.py", line 184, in _find_executable
full_path = _get_executable_path(rp.get_path(args[0]), path)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/rospkg/rospack.py", line 200, in get_path
raise ResourceNotFound(name, ros_paths=self._ros_paths)
ResourceNotFound: rgbd_launch
ROS path [0]=/opt/ros/indigo/share/ros
ROS path [1]=/opt/ros/indigo/share
ROS path [2]=/opt/ros/indigo/stacks
The error says that you don’t have rgbd_launch installed on your system. Try typing:
sudo apt-get install ros-indigo-openni2-launch
I try to hook up a kinect with my raspberry pi2 which has ubuntu 14.04 and ROS indigo installed. I tried you method, but still got the error message when do roslaunch. It complains as:
terminate called after throwing an instance of ‘openni_wrapper::OpenNIException’
what(): unsigned int openni_wrapper::OpenNIDriver::updateDeviceList() @ /home/ubuntu/catkin_ws/src/openni_camera/src/openni_driver.cpp @ 125 : enumerating image nodes failed. Reason: One or more of the following nodes could not be enumerated:
Image: PrimeSense/SensorKinect/5.1.2.1: Failed to set USB interface!
Image: PrimeSense/SensorV2/5.1.0.41: Failed to set USB interface!
Could you help?
Have u figure it out?
After searching so many times, i hv few things important.
1. if u failed installed all of the driver of kinect, go to openni directory then cd Platform/Linux/Bin/x64-release/
after that check the niReg or NiReg file at here like this:
Sudo ./niReg -l
There’s output about your installation version. Your installation version of openni and it’s sensor cannot be conflict (search online about which version is good, for me OpenNi Unstable 1.4.0 and avin2 is the work one)
2. Uninstall all your instalatation package by go to your installation directory of the package (where the install.sh exist) then try:
sudo ./uninstall.sh
Or
sudo ./install.sh -u
3. Install the right version of the openni and sensor (OpenNi unstable 1.4.0 and avin2)
I tried it on a laptop and get it done successfully. Now I need to rework on my raspbeery pi 2 to make it work. But I am more confident now. Thanks for your help.
It works perfectly :-).
As @adhelia said it didn’t work, it was the same for me in the first case where i tried the installation through your first method. But after trying the second method was when i was successful :-).
Hats of Sophie 🙂
Hello Sophie 🙂
I’m fairly new to Ubuntu and ROS.
At the very last step
>>./install.sh
I get,
————————————————————
“creating config dir /usr/etc/primesense…OK
copying shared libraries…cp: cannot create regular file ‘/usr/lib/libXnCore.so’: Permission denied
cp: cannot create regular file ‘/usr/lib/libXnDDK.so’: Permission denied
cp: cannot create regular file ‘/usr/lib/libXnDeviceFile.so’: Permission denied
cp: cannot create regular file ‘/usr/lib/libXnDeviceSensorV2KM.so’: Permission denied
cp: cannot create regular file ‘/usr/lib/libXnFormats.so’: Permission denied”
————————————————————–
Would you be kind enough to help me with that?
I’ve been working on interfacing kinect for more than 2 weeks now with no luck 🙁
Thanks for your time and of course for this blog.
I had to type
———————————————–
>>sudo ./install.sh
——————————————–
but after using
—————————————————
>>roslaunch openni_launch openni.launch
————————————————–
I still get:
———————————————-
[openni.launch] is neither a launch file in package [openni_launch] nor is [openni_launch] a launch file name
The traceback for the exception was written to the log file
———————————————————-
🙁
Hi Ahmed!
Did you cd back into your catkin_ws and run catkin_make? Typically when you get that second error it’s because ROS doesn’t know where the package is because catkin_make wasn’t run.
-Sophie
hello, i tried your step, but still got the same problem. it said that :
[ INFO] [1446711237.861368363]: No devices connected…. waiting for devices to be connected
….
though i’ve connected it to my 2.0 USB or 3.0 USB.
what should i do now?
Hmm, USB2.0 vs 3.0 shouldn’t make too much a difference. Here’s a few steps to try:
1. Have you installed the OpenNI patch? (It’s the last step in the setup procedure)
2. Are you sure the Kinect is plugged in to both the wall and your laptop?
Let me know how it goes!
which is openNI patch?
yes, kinect was plugged with my laptop. there’s green led power in kinect and in the connector.
hi,
first, thank you sophie for this blog with the detailed and easy to follow instructions.
i followed the tutorial and still get the message: [ INFO] [1457710319.029566830]: No devices connected…. waiting for devices to be connected
i read here http://answers.ros.org/question/207642/freenect_launch-with-kinect/
that openni_launch doesnt work anymore under ros indigo und tried to use freenect_launch as in this: http://answers.ros.org/question/196455/kinect-installation-and-setup-on-ros-updated/
but still get the same message.
lsusb gives:
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:8001 Intel Corp.
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8009 Intel Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 009: ID 045e:02c4 Microsoft Corp.
Bus 004 Device 008: ID 045e:02d9 Microsoft Corp.
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 058f:6361 Alcor Micro Corp. Multimedia Card Reader
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 413c:2003 Dell Computer Corp. Keyboard
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 046d:c077 Logitech, Inc.
Bus 003 Device 010: ID 045e:02d9 Microsoft Corp.
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
so i have 3 entries for microsoft devices but the kinect is not mentioned explicitly, as i have seen in other posts.
there is also no led on on the kinect.
i am using ubuntu 14.04, kinect xbox one and ros indigo on a 64 system.
any idea what might cause the problem?
Hmm, if there’s no LED on the kinect, I would double check that the kinect is plugged in to the wall and is plugged in to your computer.
Edit: Ah, yep, the XBOne kinect isn’t really supported, though I know that there are people doing good work on it. A quick search shows that there is a development branch for the Kinect v2 sensor in the OpenNI repo here. Take a look and see if it helps!
Kinect one is not supported yet. You should try kinect for xbox360 instead.
When you run:
tar xjf SensorKinect093-Bin-Linux-x64-v5.1.2.1.tar.bz2
Make sure that you choose x64 if you have 64-bit system
and x86 if you have 32-bit system
yes, i’ve choose Linux-x64
Thank you. It saves me from frustrating. Just add a small thing, you may need to run
$source install/setup.bash
before run rosrun. Thanks again, great help.
Yep, definitely!
An easier to do this could be to source catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash and add it to your .bashrc so you don’t have to source the setup.bash every time. It’s a helpful first step to do after installing ROS.
where should i run “$source install/setup.bash” ?
it said that :
bash: install/setup.bash: No such file or directory
though in my workspace there’s a directory named install and have setup.bash inside it.
You should add the source to the setup.bash file in your bashrc. On Ubuntu, it’s a hidden file in your home directory named “.bashrc”
Type
gedit ~/.bashrc
Add the following line to the bottom of the file.
export ~/catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash
Save the file and open a new terminal window and you’ll be able to run roscore without having to re-source the setup.bash file again and again.
Hey! Out of all the things I tried, this seemed to do it! You might want to post this in the ROS question and Answers
Haha, I might, though this post is really just pulling a lot of info from the ROS forums into one place. Glad I could help! 🙂
This blog really helps me to fix the problem of using kinect with openni_launch package at now. I want to say thank you!
Good to hear! Thanks for letting me know 😀