Mastering ROS for Robotics Programming

Design, build, and simulate complex robots using the Robot Operating System

Key Features

• Become proficient in ROS programming using C++ with this comprehensive guide
• Build complex robot applications using the ROS Noetic Ninjemys release to interface robot manipulators with mobile robots
• Learn to interact with aerial robots using ROS

Book Description

The Robot Operating System (ROS) is a software framework used for programming complex robots. ROS enables you to develop software for building complex robots without writing code from scratch, saving valuable development time. Mastering ROS for Robotics Programming provides complete coverage of the advanced concepts using easy-to-understand, practical examples and step-by-step explanations of essential concepts that you can apply to your ROS robotics projects.

The book begins by helping you get to grips with the basic concepts necessary for programming robots with ROS. You'll then discover how to develop a robot simulation, as well as an actual robot, and understand how to apply high-level capabilities such as navigation and manipulation from scratch. As you advance, you'll learn how to create ROS controllers and plugins and explore ROS's industrial applications and how it interacts with aerial robots. Finally, you'll discover best practices and methods for working with ROS efficiently.

By the end of this ROS book, you'll have learned how to create various applications in ROS and build your first ROS robot.

What you will learn

• Create a robot model with a 7-DOF robotic arm and a differential wheeled mobile robot
• Work with Gazebo, CoppeliaSim, and Webots robotic simulators
• Implement autonomous navigation in differential drive robots using SLAM and AMCL packages
• Interact with and simulate aerial robots using ROS
• Explore ROS pluginlib, ROS nodelets, and Gazebo plugins
• Interface I/O boards such as Arduino, robot sensors, and high-end actuators
• Simulate and perform motion planning for an ABB robot and a universal arm using ROS-Industrial
• Work with the motion planning features of a 7-DOF arm using MoveIt

Who this book is for

If you are a robotics graduate, robotics researcher, or robotics software professional looking to work with ROS, this book is for you. Programmers who want to explore the advanced features of ROS will also find this book useful. Basic knowledge of ROS, GNU/Linux, and C++ programming concepts is necessary to get started with this book.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to ROS
2. Getting started with ROS Programming
3. Working with ROS for 3D modelling
4. Simulating Robots Using ROS and Gazebo
5. Simulating Robots using ROS and Coppeliasim and Webot
6. Using the ROS MoveIt! and Navigation Stack On
7. Exploring the Advanced Capabilities of ROS-MoveIt!
8. ROS for Aerial Robots
9. Interfacing I/O boards Sensors and Actuators to ROS
10. Programming Vision Sensors Using ROS, OpenCV, and PCL
11. Building and Interfacing Differential Drive Mobile robot Hardware in ROS
12. Working with pluginlib Nodelet, and Gazebo Plugins
13. Writing ROS Controllers and Visualization Plugins
14. Using ROS in Matlab and Simulink
15. ROS for Industrial Robots
16. Troubleshooting and Best Practices

Lentin Joseph is an author, roboticist and robotics entrepreneur from India. He runs a robotics software company called Qbotics Labs in Kochi/Kerala. He has 10 years of experience in the robotics domain primarily in Robot Operating System, OpenCV, and PCL.

He has authored 8 books in ROS, namely, Learning Robotics using Python first and second edition, Mastering ROS for Robotics Programming first and second edition, ROS Robotics Projects first and second edition, ROS Learning Path and Robot Operating System for Absolute Beginners.

He has pursued his Masters in Robotics and Automation from India and also worked at Robotics Institute, CMU, USA. He is also a TEDx speaker.

Jonathan Cacace was born in Naples, Italy, on December 13, 1987. He received his Master's degree in computer science, and a Ph.D. degree in Information and Automation Engineering, from the University of Naples Federico II.

Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at the University of Naples Federico II. He is also a member of PRISMA Lab where he is involved in different research projects focused on industrial and service robotics in which he has developed several ROS-based applications integrating robot perception and control.