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Is it possible to use the Matlab's system function to call ROS commands?

For example, using system('rostopic pub /cmd_vel geometry.msgs.Twist {....} or system('rospack find ipc_bridge).

I'm trying to send some commands to ROS without using something like IPC-Bridge.

PS: I know, however, that I need to use IPC-Bridge to subscribe to topics.

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This is possible. But it is very sloppy, in my humble opinion. It is useful for one-off commands, but how will you read back output, verify your command was executed, etc.

If you are dead-set against the IPC bridge, you may want to look at using the MATLAB-java interface. ROS also allows you to program in Java using ros-fuerte-client-rosjava (ubuntu), or just rosjava.

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  • $\begingroup$ Ok. Then what am I doing wrong? How can I use the system function properly? $\endgroup$
    – Ze Nog
    Nov 25, 2012 at 10:30
  • $\begingroup$ Nothing wrong. Use it if it works for you. Just be sure to set up your bash environment correctly so your commands work. I can see this as helpful for running a matlab script, which then uses rosparam to set the output of the functions for nodes to read. However, I was referring to how difficult it might be to "close the loop" and use matlab to read from ROS ndoes. $\endgroup$
    – Josh Vander Hook
    Nov 25, 2012 at 17:36

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