Turtlebot Basics

Thursday, 1 May, 2014

6:15 PM

On TURTLEBOT:
1.
Before turning on Turtlebot laptop, make sure the USB cables are
disconnected.
2.
Turn on Turtlebot laptop (pw: turtlebot)
3.
Connect to turtlebot_network wireless network. If not found, look in
Connect to Hidden Wireless Network.
4.
Make sure ROS is running;
a.
Open a Terminal
b.
Execute the following;
>rostopiclist

c. If a whole list of items come up, then ROS is already running. Please
proceed.
d. If not (say only 2 items or an ERROR come up), do this (ONLY if ROS is
not running yet);
>roslaunchturtlebot_bringupminimal.launch

5.

Close the laptop lid and slide the laptop into the Turtlebot. Connect the
USB cables (do not use the USB 3.0 port).

On the WORKSTATION:
1.
Turn the laptop boros on (pw: boros), and connect to turtlebot_network.
2.
Make sure ROS is running;
a.
Open a Terminal and execute the following;
>rostopiclist

b. If a whole list of items come up, then ROS is already running. Please
proceed.
c. If and ERROR come up, make sure that the workstation is already
connected to turtlebot_network.
3.

Open a Terminal, and run these to control Turtlebot using Wiimote:

>sshturtlebot@turtlebot
>cd~/ros_dev
>roslaunchwiimote_teleop.launch

a. Leave the Wiimote on a flat surface, and

b. Wait until it says "Press buttons 1 and 2 together to pair", and then
press the two buttons.
4.

To start making maps using the gmapping demo app, execute the
following;
a.
in a new Terminal run gmapping;
>sshturtlebot@turtlebot
>roslaunchturtlebot_navigationgmapping_demo.launch

b. in another new Terminal run RVIZ;

>roslaunchturtlebot_rviz_launchersview_navigation.launch

c. Adjust the display in RVIZ to be able to see the robot clearly.

d. Move turtlebot around using the Wiimote. A map should be generated

in RVIZ accordingly.
e. Once you have a good map, save the map in another new Terminal:
>sshturtlebot@turtlebot
>rosrunmap_servermap_saverf~/my_map

f.
5.

Turn the gmapping and RVIZ off by clicking Ctrl+C in their respective
Terminal windows.

To do autonomous navigation demo:

a.
in a new Terminal run the demo;
>sshturtlebot@turtlebot
>roslaunchturtlebot_navigationamcl_demo.launch
map_file:=~/my_map.yaml

b. in another new Terminal run RVIZ;

>roslaunchturtlebot_rviz_launchersview_navigation.launch

In RVIZ
Localize the TurtleBot
When starting up, the TurtleBot does not know where it is. To provide him its
approximate location on the map:
1. Click the "2D Pose Estimate" button
2. Click on the map where the TurtleBot approximately is and drag in the
direction the TurtleBot is pointing.
You will see a collection of arrows which are hypotheses of the position of the
TurtleBot. The laser scan should line up approximately with the walls in the
map. If things don't line up well you can repeat the procedure.

Teleoperation
The teleoperation can be run simultaneously with the navigation stack. It will
override the autonomous behavior if commands are being sent. It is often a
good idea to teleoperate the robot after seeding the localization to make sure it
converges to a good estimate of the position.

Send a navigation goal

With the TurtleBot localized, it can then autonomously plan through the
environment.
To send a goal:
1. Click the "2D Nav Goal" button
2. Click on the map where you want the TurtleBot to drive and drag in the
direction the TurtleBot should be pointing at the end.
This can fail if the path or goal is blocked.
If you want to stop the robot before it reaches it's goal, send it a goal at it's
current location.

From <http://wiki.ros.org/turtlebot_navigation/Tutorials/Autonomously%20navigate%20in
%20a%20known%20map>