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Learning Robotics using Python
Learning Robotics using Python

Learning Robotics using Python: Design, simulate, program, and prototype an autonomous mobile robot using ROS, OpenCV, PCL, and Python , Second Edition

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Learning Robotics using Python

Understanding the Basics of Differential Robots

In the previous chapter, we discussed the basics of ROS, how to install it, and the basics of the Gazebo robot simulator. As we have already mentioned, we are going to create an autonomous wheeled robot from scratch. The robot that we are going to design is a differential drive robot, which involves having two wheels on opposite sides of the robot chassis, enabling the robot's direction to be adjusted by changing the speed of each of the two wheels.

It will be good to understand the basic ideas and terminology behind differential wheel robots before programming the robot. This chapter will give you an idea of how to analyze the robot mathematically and how to solve the robot's kinematics equation. The kinematics equation helps you to predict the robot's position from its sensor data.

In this chapter, we will cover...

Mathematical modeling of the robot

An important part of a mobile robot is its steering system. This will help the robot to navigate its environment. One of the simplest and most cost-effective steering systems is the differential drive system. A differential drive robot consists of two main wheels mounted on a common axis that are controlled by separate motors. A differential drive system/steering system is a nonholonomic system, which means that it has constraints for the changing the robot's pose.

A car is an example of a nonholonomic system, as it cannot change its position without changing its pose. Let's look at how this type of robot works and how we can model the robot in terms of its mathematics.

Introduction to the differential drive system and robot kinematics

...

Forward kinematics of a differential robot

The forward kinematics equations for a robot with a differential drive system are used to solve the following problem:

If a robot is standing in a position (x, y, θ) at time t, determine the pose (x', y', θ') at t + δt given the control parameters V-left and V-right.

This technique can be calculated by the robot to follow a particular trajectory.

Explanations of the forward kinematics equation

We can start by formulating a solution for forward kinematics. The following figure is an illustration of one of the wheels of the robot:

A single wheel of the robot rotating along the local y-axis

The motion around the y-axis is known as the roll; everything...

Inverse kinematics

The forward kinematics equation provides an updated pose at a given wheel speed. We can now think about the inverse problem.

Stand in pose (x, y, θ) at time t and determine the V-left and V-right control parameters so that the pose at time t + δt is (x', y', θ').

In differential drive systems, this problem may not always have a solution because this kind of robot can't be moved to any pose by simply setting the wheel velocity. It's because of the nonholonomic robots' constraints.

In nonholonomic robots, there are some ways to increase the constrained mobility if we allow a sequence of different (V-left, V-right) movements. If we insert the values from equations (12) and (15), we can identify some special movements that we can program:

  • If V-right = V-left => nr = nl => R = ∞, ωδT = 0 =...

Summary

This chapter was about the fundamental concepts of differential drive robots, and looked at how you can derive the kinematics equations of such robots. At the start of the chapter, we saw the basics of differential drive robots, and then we discussed the forward kinematics equations that are used in these robots. These equations were explained using diagrams. After looking at forward kinematics equations, we looked at the inverse kinematics equations for differential drive robots. We also looked at the basics of inverse kinematics equations.

In the next chapter, we will see how we can create a simulation of the autonomous mobile robot using ROS and Gazebo.

Questions

  1. What are holonomic and nonholonomic configurations?
  2. What are robot kinematics and dynamics?
  3. What is the ICC of a differential drive robot?
  4. What is the forward kinematic equation in a differential robot?
  5. What is the inverse kinematic equation in a differential robot?
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Key benefits

  • • Design, simulate, build, and program an interactive autonomous mobile robot
  • • Leverage the power of ROS, Gazebo, and Python to enhance your robotic skills
  • • A hands-on guide to creating an autonomous mobile robot with the help of ROS and Python

Description

Robot Operating System (ROS) is one of the most popular robotics software frameworks in research and industry. It has various features for implementing different capabilities in a robot without implementing them from scratch. This book starts by showing you the fundamentals of ROS so you understand the basics of differential robots. Then, you'll learn about robot modeling and how to design and simulate it using ROS. Moving on, we'll design robot hardware and interfacing actuators. Then, you'll learn to configure and program depth sensors and LIDARs using ROS. Finally, you'll create a GUI for your robot using the Qt framework. By the end of this tutorial, you'll have a clear idea of how to integrate and assemble everything into a robot and how to bundle the software package.

Who is this book for?

This book is for those who are conducting research in mobile robotics and autonomous navigation. As well as the robotics research domain, this book is also for the robot hobbyist community. You’re expected to have a basic understanding of Linux commands and Python.

What you will learn

  • • Design a differential robot from scratch
  • • Model a differential robot using ROS and URDF
  • • Simulate a differential robot using ROS and Gazebo
  • • Design robot hardware electronics
  • • Interface robot actuators with embedded boards
  • • Explore the interfacing of different 3D depth cameras in ROS
  • • Implement autonomous navigation in ChefBot
  • • Create a GUI for robot control

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Jun 27, 2018
Length: 280 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781788629973
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Product Details

Publication date : Jun 27, 2018
Length: 280 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781788629973
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Table of Contents

11 Chapters
Getting Started with Robot Operating System Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Understanding the Basics of Differential Robots Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Modeling the Differential Drive Robot Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Simulating a Differential Drive Robot Using ROS Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Designing ChefBot Hardware and Circuits Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Interfacing Actuators and Sensors to the Robot Controller Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Interfacing Vision Sensors with ROS Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Building ChefBot Hardware and the Integration of Software Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Designing a GUI for a Robot Using Qt and Python Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Assessments Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.1
(8 Ratings)
5 star 37.5%
4 star 12.5%
3 star 12.5%
2 star 0%
1 star 37.5%
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Neeraj Jan 24, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
A good book to learn robotics for beginners.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Mathew Bob Aug 29, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This will be very useful to start building a new autonomous mobile robot
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Tao W. Sep 14, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
It is a nice start for building a ROS system both in hardware and software, in every aspects of a robotic system.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Praveen Nov 20, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
Read few pages of the book and felt it is good for people who are starting to learn robotics. The book has info about how to design robot in CAD but there is no info about the ways to manufacture the robot(like 3D printing). I request the author to kindly include a couple of pages on manufacturing the hardware. Thank you.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
D Morris Nov 23, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
Nicely organized intro to ROS. But i am not able to read more than half-way through, since at some point in the Kindle book, as when I scroll on to subsequent pages, the text columns narrow until they are a single-character wide, see the photo. So I only managed to read the first third or half of the book.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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