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Fix: vla_sim teleop gripper close/open falls back to unconfigured default Objective #841

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Merged
griswaldbrooks merged 2 commits into from
Aug 12, 2026
Merged

Fix: vla_sim teleop gripper close/open falls back to unconfigured default Objective #841

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9ffdfab
fix(vla_sim): add Close/Open Gripper Objective overrides
griswaldbrooks Aug 12, 2026
85863db
docs(claude): note the close/open gripper Objective override gotcha
griswaldbrooks Aug 12, 2026
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4 changes: 4 additions & 0 deletions CLAUDE.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -56,3 +56,7 @@ Every objective XML file must include a `MetadataFields` block inside the `TreeN

- `runnable` — set to `"true"` for top-level objectives the user can run, `"false"` for subtrees only called by other objectives
- `subcategory` — groups the objective in the UI (e.g., `"AprilTag"`, `"Grasping"`, `"MuJoCo Simulation"`)

### A gripper config needs `close_gripper.xml` / `open_gripper.xml`, or teleop gripper silently fails

Teleoperation drives the gripper by looking up Objectives named exactly `"Close Gripper"` / `"Open Gripper"` (the `Request Teleoperation` SubTree in moveit_pro core). If a config package doesn't provide those overrides in its `objectives/` directory, the lookup falls back to moveit_pro's core placeholder, which logs `[ERROR] LogMessage Error: This robot configuration does not have a \`Close Gripper\` Objective configured to override this default.` on every BT tick for as long as the control is held, and the gripper never moves — even if some other Objective in the same config already drives the gripper directly via `MoveGripperAction` (that path bypasses the named-Objective lookup entirely). Any new config with a gripper needs both files; see `moveit_pro_kinova_configs/kinova_gen3_base_config/objectives/{close,open}_gripper.xml` for the reference pattern.
25 changes: 25 additions & 0 deletions src/vla_sim/objectives/close_gripper.xml
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@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<root BTCPP_format="4" main_tree_to_execute="Close Gripper">
<BehaviorTree
ID="Close Gripper"
_description="Close the gripper"
_favorite="false"
>
<Control ID="Sequence" name="root">
<Action
ID="MoveGripperAction"
gripper_command_action_name="/robotiq_gripper_controller/gripper_cmd"
position="0.7"
timeout="15.000000"
/>
</Control>
</BehaviorTree>
<TreeNodesModel>
<SubTree ID="Close Gripper">
<MetadataFields>
<Metadata runnable="true" />
<Metadata subcategory="Grasping" />
</MetadataFields>
</SubTree>
</TreeNodesModel>
</root>
25 changes: 25 additions & 0 deletions src/vla_sim/objectives/open_gripper.xml
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@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<root BTCPP_format="4" main_tree_to_execute="Open Gripper">
<BehaviorTree
ID="Open Gripper"
_description="Open the gripper"
_favorite="false"
>
<Control ID="Sequence" name="root">
<Action
ID="MoveGripperAction"
gripper_command_action_name="/robotiq_gripper_controller/gripper_cmd"
position="0.0"
timeout="15.000000"
/>
</Control>
</BehaviorTree>
<TreeNodesModel>
<SubTree ID="Open Gripper">
<MetadataFields>
<Metadata runnable="true" />
<Metadata subcategory="Grasping" />
</MetadataFields>
</SubTree>
</TreeNodesModel>
</root>
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