Book Image

ROS Robotics By Example

Book Image

ROS Robotics By Example

Overview of this book

The visionaries who created ROS developed a framework for robotics centered on the commonality of robotic systems and exploited this commonality in ROS to expedite the development of future robotic systems. From the fundamental concepts to advanced practical experience, this book will provide you with an incremental knowledge of the ROS framework, the backbone of the robotics evolution. ROS standardizes many layers of robotics functionality from low-level device drivers to process control to message passing to software package management. This book provides step-by-step examples of mobile, armed, and flying robots, describing the ROS implementation as the basic model for other robots of these types. By controlling these robots, whether in simulation or in reality, you will use ROS to drive, move, and fly robots using ROS control.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
ROS Robotics By Example
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Introducing TurtleBot


TurtleBot is a mobile robot that can be purchased as a kit or fully assembled. Several companies in North America and around the world sell TurtleBots. The TurtleBot2 model is shown in the following image:

Turtlebot 2

A list of manufacturers can be found at: http://www.turtlebot.com/manufacturers/

The main items that comprise the TurtleBot 2 model from bottom to top in the preceding image are as follows:

  • A mobile base that also serves as support for the upper stages of the robot

  • A netbook resting on a module plate

  • Another module plate used to hold items

  • A vision sensor with a color camera and 3D depth sensor

  • The top most module plate used to hold items

We will discuss the main items briefly here and provide more details for the base and the netbook later in this chapter. Overall, the TurtleBot model stands about 420 mm (16.5 inches) high and the base is approximately 355 mm (14 inches) in diameter.

The particular base in the authors' TurtleBot is a Kobuki mobile platform produced...