Book Image

ROS Robotics By Example, Second Edition - Second Edition

By : Carol Fairchild, Lentin Joseph, Dr. Thomas L. Harman
Book Image

ROS Robotics By Example, Second Edition - Second Edition

By: Carol Fairchild, Lentin Joseph, Dr. Thomas L. Harman

Overview of this book

ROS is a robust robotics framework that works regardless of hardware architecture or hardware origin. It standardizes most layers of robotics functionality from device drivers to process control and message passing to software package management. But apart from just plain functionality, ROS is a great platform to learn about robotics itself and to simulate, as well as actually build, your first robots. This does not mean that ROS is a platform for students and other beginners; on the contrary, ROS is used all over the robotics industry to implement flying, walking and diving robots, yet implementation is always straightforward, and never dependent on the hardware itself. ROS Robotics has been the standard introduction to ROS for potential professionals and hobbyists alike since the original edition came out; the second edition adds a gradual introduction to all the goodness available with the Kinetic Kame release. By providing you with step-by-step examples including manipulator arms and flying robots, the authors introduce you to the new features. The book is intensely practical, with space given to theory only when absolutely necessary. By the end of this book, you will have hands-on experience on controlling robots with the best possible framework.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
ROS Robotics By Example Second Edition
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Customer Feedback
Preface
Index

3D vision systems for TurtleBot


TurtleBot's capability is greatly enhanced by the addition of a 3D vision sensor. The function of 3D sensors is to map the environment around the robot by discovering nearby objects that are either stationary or moving. The mapping function must be accomplished in real time so that the robot can move around the environment, evaluate its path choices, and avoid obstacles. For autonomous vehicles, such as Waymo's self-driving cars, 3D mapping is accomplished by a high-cost LIDAR system that uses laser radar to illuminate its environment and analyze the reflected light. For our TurtleBot, we will present a number of low cost but effective options. These standard 3D sensors for TurtleBot include Kinect sensors, ASUS Xtion sensors, Carmine sensors, and Intel RealSense sensors. TurtleBot 3 navigates using a 2D low cost laser distance sensor, the Hitachi-LG LDS.

How these 3D vision sensors work

The 3D vision systems that we describe for TurtleBot have a common infrared...