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

Introducing TurtleBot 2


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 TurtleBot 2 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...