After simulating a robotic arm, we will now discuss how to set up a simulation scene to control a mobile robot. In this case, we will use one of the simulation models already implemented in V-REP. To import a model from the V-REP database, select the desired model class and object from the Model Browser panel and drag it into the scene.
For our simulation, we will simulate the Pioneer 3dx, one of the most popular differential wheeled mobile robots used as a research platform:
Figure 14: Pioneer 3dx in V-REP simulation scene
By default, the Pioneer robot is equipped with 16 sonar sensors, both forward and rear facing. In the next section, we will discuss how to equip the robot with other sensors.
To actuate the robot using ROS, we should add a script that receives the desired linear and angular velocity and convert it in wheel velocities. We can use the same script to enable sensor data streaming via a ROS topic.
Here is the complete code of the...