# Stretch Driver (ROS ) - Position Mode - "translate\_mobile\_base" and "rotate\_mobile\_base" commands

**URL:** <https://forum.hello-robot.com/t/stretch-driver-ros-position-mode-translate-mobile-base-and-rotate-mobile-base-commands/1390>\
**Category:** Ask\
**Created:** [August 27, 2025, 1:07pm UTC](https://forum.hello-robot.com/t/stretch-driver-ros-position-mode-translate-mobile-base-and-rotate-mobile-base-commands/1390 "2025-08-27T13:07:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![noob-robotics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dfb087/32.png) [@noob-robotics](https://forum.hello-robot.com/u/noob-robotics)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 1:07pm UTC](https://forum.hello-robot.com/t/stretch-driver-ros-position-mode-translate-mobile-base-and-rotate-mobile-base-commands/1390/1 "2025-08-27T13:07:06Z")

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Hello,

I am working with the SE3 robot and currently using it mainly through ROS. I have tried moving the base in the “navigation mode” of the drivers with Nav2 (by commanding velocity), and it is working fine. According to the driver documentation, in position mode:

> Two kinds of position commands are available for the mobile base: translation and rotation, with joint names “translate\_mobile\_base” and “rotate\_mobile\_base”.

I looked for these two commands, but I was not able to find them among the available services and actions provided by the Stretch drivers in position mode. I am aware that both of these functions are available in the Python SDK of Stretch (i.e., `stretch_body`) in the form of `rotate_by` and `translate_by`.

What would be the easiest way to access these two functions in ROS (may be as ROS2 actions) ? Could you please help me with this?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![noob-robotics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dfb087/32.png) [@noob-robotics](https://forum.hello-robot.com/u/noob-robotics)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 12:33pm UTC](https://forum.hello-robot.com/t/stretch-driver-ros-position-mode-translate-mobile-base-and-rotate-mobile-base-commands/1390/2 "2025-08-28T12:33:31Z")

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Hello,

I figured out the answer to this question.

**Solution:** I used the already provided action server `/stretch_controller/follow_joint_trajectory` to command the joint names `translate_mobile_base` and `rotate_mobile_base` in position mode, and it works fine.

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**Author:** ![bshah](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.hello-robot.com/bshah/32/55_2.png) [@bshah](https://forum.hello-robot.com/u/bshah)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://forum.hello-robot.com/t/stretch-driver-ros-position-mode-translate-mobile-base-and-rotate-mobile-base-commands/1390/3 "2025-08-28T20:10:01Z")

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Thanks @noob-robotics, that’s right. We also have an [example here](https://docs.hello-robot.com/0.3/ros2/jogging/#translating-and-rotating-the-base) using the `HelloNode` class (which internally handles the client logic for interfacing with the action server).