Behavior Trees

Behavior tree codelets are one of the primary mechanisms to control the flow of tasks in Isaac SDK. They follow the same general behavior as classical behavior trees, with some useful additions for robotics applications. This document gives an overview of the general concept, the available behavior tree node types, and some examples of how to use them individually or in conjunction with each other.

Behavior trees consist of n-ary trees of nodes that can have zero or more children, depending on the type of node. In Isaac SDK, one node in a behavior tree is reflected as one node in the application definition. The actual behavior tree codelet is added as a codelet to that node. If the behavior tree node has children, the application node also requires a codelet of type NodeGroup.

The general structure of such a tree looks like this:

sdk_app_bt.png

In this example, the entry point of the application contains two child nodes that are run in sequence: An initialization sequence consisting of arbitrary codelets that are executed in the order in which they are defined, and a main node that keeps repeating its single child node. The repeated node runs three nodes in parallel and only finishes once all parallel nodes have finished their execution.

Running behavior tree nodes can have two outcomes: success or failure. This information is used by parent nodes to steer the control flow (e.g. trigger error handling upon failure or move to the next processing step upon success). The actual effect of child-node success or failure depends on the parent codelet. This is described in the respective sections below.

For child nodes that should be started in the context of a parent node, it is generally advisable to set their disable_automatic_start field to true to ensure that they are not started upon application startup. The examples below exemplify this.

Using this machinery, arbitrarily complex behaviors can be produced. Any Isaac SDK codelet can be used as a child node to any behavior tree node that accepts child nodes. The available behavior tree codelets are explained in the following section.

Each behavior tree codelet can have a set of parameters defining how it should behave, and any behavior tree codelet that accepts child nodes expects the same application node to contain a codelet of type NodeGroup.

ConstantBehavior

Description: After each tick period, switches its own status to the configured desired status.

Parameters

Parameter

Default Value

Description

status

success

String value denoting the desired status to switch to during each tick. This value can be changed dynamically and will be evaluated during each tick of this codelet. Possible values: “success”, “failure”.

Child Nodes

Accepts child nodes

No

Minimum number of child nodes

none

Maximum number of child nodes

none

Example

Upon application start, start the node constant_node. During the next tick, switch status to “failure”.

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{ "name": "constant_example", "graph": { "nodes": [ { "name": "constant_node", "components": [ { "name": "ConstantBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::ConstantBehavior" } ] } ] }, "config": { "constant_node": { "ConstantBehavior": { "status": "failure" } } } }


MemorySelectorBehavior

Description: Runs all child nodes in sequence until one succeeds, then reports success. If all child nodes fail (or no child nodes are present), this codelet fails.

Parameters: None

Child Nodes

Accepts child nodes

Yes

Minimum number of child nodes

0

Maximum number of child nodes

unlimited

Example

Upon application start, start the selector_node node, which then starts the child_node_1 and child_node_2 child nodes in sequence. Depending on their results, it will succeed or fail.

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{ "name": "selector_example", "graph": { "nodes": [ { "name": "selector_node", "components": [ { "name": "NodeGroup", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::NodeGroup" }, { "name": "MemorySelectorBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::MemorySelectorBehavior" } ] }, { "name": "child_node_1", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "child_node_2", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true } ] }, "config": { "selector_node": { "NodeGroup": { "node_names": [ "child_node_1", "child_node_2" ] } } } }


MemorySequenceBehavior

Description: Runs its child nodes in sequence, in the order in which they are defined. Succeeds when all child nodes succeed, or fails as soon as one child node fails.

Parameters: None

Child Nodes

Accepts child nodes

Yes

Minimum number of child nodes

1

Maximum number of child nodes

unlimited

Example

Upon application start, start the node sequence_node. The node then runs the child_node_1 and child_node_2 child nodes in sequence.

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{ "name": "sequence_example", "graph": { "nodes": [ { "name": "sequence_node", "components": [ { "name": "NodeGroup", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::NodeGroup" }, { "name": "MemorySequenceBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::MemorySequenceBehavior" } ] }, { "name": "child_node_1", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "child_node_2", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true } ] }, "config": { "sequence_node": { "NodeGroup": { "node_names": [ "child_node_1", "child_node_2" ] } } } }


ParallelBehavior

Description: Runs its child nodes in parallel. By default, succeeds when all child nodes succeed, and fails when all child nodes fail. This behavior can be customized using the parameters below.

Parameters

Parameter

Default Value

Description

success_threshold

-1

Number of successful children required for success. -1 means all children must succeed for this node to succeed.

failure_threshold

-1

Number of failed children required for failure. -1 means all children must fail for this node to fail.

Child Nodes

Accepts child nodes

Yes

Minimum number of child nodes

1

Maximum number of child nodes

unlimited

Example

Upon application start, start the parallel_node node, which then runs the child_node_1 and child_node_2 child nodes in parallel.

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{ "name": "parallel_example", "graph": { "nodes": [ { "name": "parallel_node", "components": [ { "name": "NodeGroup", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::NodeGroup" }, { "name": "ParallelBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::ParallelBehavior" } ] }, { "name": "child_node_1", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "child_node_2", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true } ] }, "config": { "parallel_node": { "NodeGroup": { "node_names": [ "child_node_1", "child_node_2" ] } } } }


RepeatBehavior

Description: Repeats its only child node, with a wait_duration optional time delay between repetitions. By default, won’t repeat when the child node fails. This can be customized using the parameters below.

Parameters

Parameter

Default Value

Description

repeat_after_failure

false

Denotes whether to repeat the child after it has failed. Fail otherwise when child node fails.

wait_duration

1.0

Duration in seconds to wait between two repetitions.

Child Nodes

Accepts child nodes

Yes

Minimum number of child nodes

1

Maximum number of child nodes

1

Example

Upon application start, start the repeat_node node, which then runs the child_node node repetitively. The node repeat_node is configured to repeat its child node even when it reports a failure.

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{ "name": "repeat_example", "graph": { "nodes": [ { "name": "repeat_node", "components": [ { "name": "NodeGroup", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::NodeGroup" }, { "name": "RepeatBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::RepeatBehavior" } ] }, { "name": "child_node", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true } ] }, "config": { "repeat_node": { "NodeGroup": { "node_names": [ "child_node" ] }, "RepeatBehavior": { "repeat_after_failure": true } } } }


SwitchBehavior

Description: Runs the child node with the name defined as desired_behavior. The child can optionally be referenced by an alias defined in node_alias_map. In both cases, the referenced child node must be part of the node_names list of the node NodeGroup.

Parameters

Parameter

Default Value

Description

desired_behavior

Child node name or alias present in “node_alias_map”. The referenced node will be run when this node runs and returns its result status. May not be empty.

node_alias_map

{}

JSON associative array mapping node alias names to existing node names.

Child Nodes

Accepts child nodes

Yes

Minimum number of child nodes

1

Maximum number of child nodes

unlimited

Example

Upon application start, start the node switch_node. That node then starts its child node child_node_1 as its desired_behavior is set to alias_1, which points to child_node_1.

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{ "name": "switch_example", "graph": { "nodes": [ { "name": "switch_node", "components": [ { "name": "NodeGroup", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::NodeGroup" }, { "name": "SwitchBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::SwitchBehavior" } ] }, { "name": "child_node_1", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "child_node_2", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true } ] }, "config": { "switch_node": { "NodeGroup": { "node_names": [ "child_node_1", "child_node_2" ] }, "SwitchBehavior": { "node_alias_map": { "alias_1": "child_node_1", "alias_2": "child_node_2" }, "desired_behavior": "alias_1" } } } }


TimerBehavior

Description: Waits for a specified amount of time delay, and switches to the configured result status afterwards.

Parameters

Parameter

Default Value

Description

delay

1.0

Duration in seconds to wait before switching to the desired status.

status

success

String value denoting the desired status to switch to after the timer delay runs out. Possible values: “success”, “failure”, “running”, “invalid”. Setting this value to “running” or “invalid” will lead to undefined behavior in the application.

Child Nodes

Accepts child nodes

No

Minimum number of child nodes

none

Maximum number of child nodes

none

Example

Upon application start, start the timer_node node. After 5.0 seconds, report a failure.

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{ "name": "timer_example", "graph": { "nodes": [ { "name": "timer_node", "components": [ { "name": "TimerBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::TimerBehavior" } ] } ] }, "config": { "timer_node": { "TimerBehavior": { "delay": 5.0, "status": "failure" } } } }


These examples showcase how to combine different behaviors described above.

Sequential initialization phase, parallel main phase

This example shows how to combine instances of the MemorySequenceBehavior and ParallelBehavior behaviors to form a hierarchical sequence of task phases. After the entry_point node is started, first the init_phase child node runs, which then runs a sequence of initialization nodes (init_node_1 and init_node_2). After that, the main_phase node is started, which runs two nodes in parallel: main_node_1 and main_node_2. The below image depicts this app structure.

ex_init_main_phases.png

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{ "name": "init_main_phases_example", "graph": { "nodes": [ { "name": "entry_point", "components": [ { "name": "NodeGroup", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::NodeGroup" }, { "name": "MemorySequenceBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::MemorySequenceBehavior" } ] }, { "name": "init_phase", "components": [ { "name": "NodeGroup", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::NodeGroup" }, { "name": "MemorySequenceBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::MemorySequenceBehavior" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "main_phase", "components": [ { "name": "NodeGroup", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::NodeGroup" }, { "name": "ParallelBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::ParallelBehavior" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "init_node_1", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "init_node_2", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "main_node_1", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "main_node_2", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodeletType" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true } ] }, "config": { "entry_point": { "NodeGroup": { "node_names": [ "init_phase", "main_phase" ] } }, "init_phase": { "NodeGroup": { "node_names": [ "init_node_1", "init_node_2" ] } }, "main_phase": { "NodeGroup": { "node_names": [ "main_node_1", "main_node_2" ] } } } }


Segmented task execution with waiting period

This example shows how to segment a more complex task into multiple steps that require waiting periods between them. After the entry_point node is started, it runs its only child node, task_sequence. In the task sequence, the task_1 node is run, followed by a 2.5 second waiting period performed by the wait node. Afterwards, the child node task_2 is run. The whole sequence is repeated by entry_point after a period of 5.0 seconds.

ex_tasks_wait.png

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{ "name": "tasks_wait_example", "graph": { "nodes": [ { "name": "entry_point", "components": [ { "name": "NodeGroup", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::NodeGroup" }, { "name": "RepeatBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::RepeatBehavior" } ] }, { "name": "task_sequence", "components": [ { "name": "NodeGroup", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::NodeGroup" }, { "name": "MemorySequenceBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::MemorySequenceBehavior" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "task_1", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodelet" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "task_2", "components": [ { "name": "SomeCodelet", "type": "isaac::SomeCodelet" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true }, { "name": "wait", "components": [ { "name": "TimerBehavior", "type": "isaac::behavior_tree::TimerBehavior" } ], "disable_automatic_start": true } ] }, "config": { "entry_point": { "NodeGroup": { "node_names": [ "task_sequence" ] }, "RepeatBehavior": { "wait_duration": 5.0 } }, "task_sequence": { "NodeGroup": { "node_names": [ "task_1", "wait", "task_2" ] } }, "wait": { "TimerBehavior": { "delay": 2.5 } } } }


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