Update obstacle docs for open (uncapped) cylinder geometry

[Shannon Bradshaw (shannonbradshaw)]

RDK #6383 added a capped field to GeometryConfig. When set to false, a cylinder becomes an open tube with no end caps, leaving the hollow interior as free space so the motion planner can route through it. This models round containers (pots, pans, tubes) that a robot needs to reach into, replacing the previous workaround of approximating a round wall with multiple boxes.

Source changes

• spatialmath: add open (uncapped) cylinder geometry rdk#6383: Add open (uncapped) cylinder geometry (capped field on GeometryConfig)

Docs changes

• docs/motion-planning/obstacles/overview.md: Updated the geometry types table to include the optional capped field on cylinder, with a description of what it does
• docs/motion-planning/obstacles/configure-workspace-obstacles.md: Added a "Round containers (open cylinder)" subsection under "Containers and work-cell boundaries" with a JSON example; clarified existing caveats apply specifically to the open-box pattern

How I found these

• Xref lookup: config-xref.md (GeometryConfig), flows.md (motion planning)
• Grep matches: 6 files reference "cylinder" in docs; 2 pages needed updating (overview and configure)

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[Jeremy Rose (jeremyrose-viam)]

This change is not in the current RDK release, so we should hold publication until at least the week of 8/31. There also seems to be some current work going on with cylinder geometry generally, so let's take a close look at this at that time and confirm with engineering if necessary.

[Jeremy Rose (jeremyrose-viam)]

A few things came up while reviewing that I'd like your take on:

1. Structural placement: the new "Round containers (open cylinder)" subsection lives under "Containers and work-cell boundaries," but that section is specifically about erh:vmodutils:obstacle-open-box — a module that only builds rectangular five-box-face containers and has nothing to do with cylinders. Nesting the cylinder content there implies a relationship that doesn't exist. Should we keep the use-case framing (a reader thinking "I have a pot," not "I have a cylinder") but make explicit that "containers" has two different mechanisms: a purpose-built module for rectangular ones, and a plain geometry primitive (via erh:vmodutils:obstacle or rdk:builtin:fake) for round ones — each pointing at the specific component to add?

2. Missing the "which component" step: the current snippet is a bare {"geometry": {"type": "cylinder", ...}} fragment with no surrounding component walkthrough. Every other pattern in this doc (see "Configure a single primitive") shows the full steps — search for X, add to machine, name it, paste this into attributes/frame. Should we match that structure so a reader can act on it directly, rather than having to infer which of the three existing patterns it fits into?

Separately, and not blocking this PR: overview.md's geometry-types table lists Sphere, Point, and Mesh, but configure-workspace-obstacles.md has zero worked examples for any of them. Worth a follow-up once this one's settled.

[Shannon Bradshaw (shannonbradshaw)]

Agreed on the hold until the RDK release ships — no rush on merging.

Pushed a restructure addressing both points:

1. Structural placement: Moved the open cylinder content out of the obstacle-open-box section into its own peer section ("Configure a round container (open cylinder)") at the same level as "Configure a single primitive" and "Containers and work-cell boundaries." Added it to the pattern summary table at the top so a reader scanning the page sees four distinct patterns. The obstacle-open-box section and its caveats are restored to their original scope (rectangular only).

2. Full component walkthrough: Added step-by-step instructions for both erh:vmodutils:obstacle (geometry list in attributes) and rdk:builtin:fake (geometry in frame JSON), matching the structure of the existing "Configure a single primitive" and "Default obstacle pattern" sections.

Happy to adjust further when you review with engineering the week of 8/31.

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[Jeremy Rose (jeremyrose-viam)]

This RDK change is shipped in v1.6.0, but it appears there's still quite a bit of churn with cylinders currently. viamrobotics/rdk#6388 and viamrobotics/api#894 are still in draft, and in the meantime there seem to be issues with cylinder behavior.

Should we consider holding this doc update until cylinder behavior is consistent?

[Shannon Bradshaw (shannonbradshaw)]

Makes sense — holding until the cylinder work stabilizes. I'll keep this PR open and check back once rdk#6388 and api#894 land to see if the capped field or open cylinder behavior changed. If the API surface shifts, I'll update the PR to match before it merges.

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