novatel_oem7_driver Documentation Overview!

The documentation referenced here describes the installation, configuration and use of the novatel_oem7_driver for ROS 2 (henceforth “the driver”).

The driver is for Hexagon | NovAtel OEM7 GNSS devices, or OEM7 devices running the SPAN GNSS+INS sensor fusion engine, such as the PwrPak7 family of products. It allows NovAtel OEM7 devices to communicate via the ROS framework in a simple, flexible, and comprehensive way.

This document focuses on use of the pre-built binary version of the NovAtel OEM7 ROS driver. For modifying and installing the ROS driver from source code, refer to the NovAtel GitHub ROS driver repository at GitHub.

For full documentation on NovAtel OEM7 products and their interface, refer to:

https://docs.novatel.com/OEM7/Content/Home.htm

novatel_oem7_driver is the only ROS driver produced and supported by NovAtel Inc.

About Hexagon | NovAtel

Hexagon is a global leader in sensor, software and autonomous solutions. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, and quality across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, safety, and mobility applications.

Our technologies are shaping urban and production ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous — ensuring a scalable, sustainable future.

NovAtel, part of Hexagon, is a global technology leader, pioneering end-to-end solutions for assured positioning for land, sea, and air. NovAtel designs, manufactures and sells high precision positioning technology developed for efficient and rapid integration. Its solutions are empowering intelligent positioning ecosystems in vital industries that depend on the ability to tackle the most complex challenges in the most demanding environments. Learn more at:

novatel.com

Supported ROS2 Releases

novatel_oem7_driver currently supports these ROS2 releases:

• humble

• jazzy

If you are interested in support for another version, please upvote the relevant issue here, or create a new issue here.

Documentation Table of Contents

• Getting Started
  • Setting Up NovAtel Hardware
  • Installing novatel_oem7_driver Binary Driver
  • Configuration of novatel_oem7_driver
  • Driver Runtime Operation
• Topic Publishing
  • ROS2 Topic Mapping
• FAQ
  • FAQ: How to Manually Connect to the Receiver?
  • FAQ: How to Configure the Driver for a GNSS Only Receiver?
  • FAQ: How to Synchronize Timing Between Sensors/Topics?
  • FAQ: How to Change the Publishing Rates of Topics?
  • FAQ: How to Configure the Receiver for Different Positioning Types?
  • FAQ: What Reference Point are ROS Specific Topics Output At?
  • FAQ: How to Assess Position Quality?
  • FAQ: How to Collect NovAtel Logs?
• Appendix Pages
  • Source Code of novatel_oem7_driver
  • Advanced Topics for novatel_oem7_driver
  • ROS Relevant NovAtel Products and Services
  • GNSS/SPAN Data Post-Processing

Additional Support Resources

OEM7 Commands and Logs

The NovAtel OEM7 Documentation Portal offers extensive documentation both online and in PDF form.

NovAtel Customer Support

Part of the great value in using NovAtel products and services is the availability of extremely qualified technical support. To get support with the novatel_oem7_driver, please contact NovAtel Customer Support.

New Feature Requests

New feature requests for the ROS driver may be registered and voted for in the Issues section of the driver’s GitHub repository, located here.

Known Issues

Known Issues are communicated via the Issues section of the driver’s GitHub repository, located here.

GNSS Book

NovAtel gives away a comprehensive and free eBook that gives an excellent overview of many key concepts related to precise positioning in their Introduction GNSS Handbook, available here.