Search icon CANCEL
Arrow left icon
Explore Products
Best Sellers
New Releases
Books
Videos
Audiobooks
Learning Hub
Conferences
Free Learning
Arrow right icon
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

Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Lentin Joseph
Arrow right icon
$19.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.1 (8 Ratings)
Paperback Jun 2018 280 pages 2nd Edition
eBook
$20.98 $29.99
Paperback
$38.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m
Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Lentin Joseph
Arrow right icon
$19.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.1 (8 Ratings)
Paperback Jun 2018 280 pages 2nd Edition
eBook
$20.98 $29.99
Paperback
$38.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m
eBook
$20.98 $29.99
Paperback
$38.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m

What do you get with a Packt Subscription?

Free for first 7 days. $19.99 p/m after that. Cancel any time!
Product feature icon Unlimited ad-free access to the largest independent learning library in tech. Access this title and thousands more!
Product feature icon 50+ new titles added per month, including many first-to-market concepts and exclusive early access to books as they are being written.
Product feature icon Innovative learning tools, including AI book assistants, code context explainers, and text-to-speech.
Product feature icon Thousands of reference materials covering every tech concept you need to stay up to date.
Subscribe now
View plans & pricing
Table of content icon View table of contents Preview book icon Preview Book

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?
Left arrow icon Right arrow icon
Download code icon Download Code

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

Country selected
Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Jun 27, 2018
Length: 280 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781788623315
Category :
Languages :
Concepts :
Tools :

What do you get with a Packt Subscription?

Free for first 7 days. $19.99 p/m after that. Cancel any time!
Product feature icon Unlimited ad-free access to the largest independent learning library in tech. Access this title and thousands more!
Product feature icon 50+ new titles added per month, including many first-to-market concepts and exclusive early access to books as they are being written.
Product feature icon Innovative learning tools, including AI book assistants, code context explainers, and text-to-speech.
Product feature icon Thousands of reference materials covering every tech concept you need to stay up to date.
Subscribe now
View plans & pricing

Product Details

Publication date : Jun 27, 2018
Length: 280 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781788623315
Category :
Languages :
Concepts :
Tools :

Packt Subscriptions

See our plans and pricing
Modal Close icon
$19.99 billed monthly
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Simple pricing, no contract
$199.99 billed annually
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just $5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts
$279.99 billed in 18 months
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just $5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts

Frequently bought together


Stars icon
Total $ 142.97
Learning Robotics using Python
$38.99
ROS Robotics By Example, Second Edition
$54.99
Python Robotics Projects
$48.99
Total $ 142.97 Stars icon

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

Most Recent
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%
Filter icon Filter
Most Recent

Filter reviews by




esmail Jun 20, 2021
Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 1
This book is garbage and has nothing in it to be used for python programing. always read about author before purchasing the book. waste of money.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Kindle Customer Sep 14, 2020
Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 1
the kindle version is so bad such that you can not read. I did not know the publisher if checked it before publishing this kindle version?
Amazon Verified review Amazon
JM Jun 25, 2019
Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 1
Terrible book with outdated examples and code. It does not cover any of the latests tools such as Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Nvidia, et cetera. It is impossible to cover these topics in such as small book.For example, it still used Ubuntu 16.04 rather than the 18.04 or the new 19.04 versions.Terrible
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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
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
Get free access to Packt library with over 7500+ books and video courses for 7 days!
Start Free Trial

FAQs

What is included in a Packt subscription? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

A subscription provides you with full access to view all Packt and licnesed content online, this includes exclusive access to Early Access titles. Depending on the tier chosen you can also earn credits and discounts to use for owning content

How can I cancel my subscription? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

To cancel your subscription with us simply go to the account page - found in the top right of the page or at https://subscription.packtpub.com/my-account/subscription - From here you will see the ‘cancel subscription’ button in the grey box with your subscription information in.

What are credits? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Credits can be earned from reading 40 section of any title within the payment cycle - a month starting from the day of subscription payment. You also earn a Credit every month if you subscribe to our annual or 18 month plans. Credits can be used to buy books DRM free, the same way that you would pay for a book. Your credits can be found in the subscription homepage - subscription.packtpub.com - clicking on ‘the my’ library dropdown and selecting ‘credits’.

What happens if an Early Access Course is cancelled? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Projects are rarely cancelled, but sometimes it's unavoidable. If an Early Access course is cancelled or excessively delayed, you can exchange your purchase for another course. For further details, please contact us here.

Where can I send feedback about an Early Access title? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

If you have any feedback about the product you're reading, or Early Access in general, then please fill out a contact form here and we'll make sure the feedback gets to the right team. 

Can I download the code files for Early Access titles? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

We try to ensure that all books in Early Access have code available to use, download, and fork on GitHub. This helps us be more agile in the development of the book, and helps keep the often changing code base of new versions and new technologies as up to date as possible. Unfortunately, however, there will be rare cases when it is not possible for us to have downloadable code samples available until publication.

When we publish the book, the code files will also be available to download from the Packt website.

How accurate is the publication date? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The publication date is as accurate as we can be at any point in the project. Unfortunately, delays can happen. Often those delays are out of our control, such as changes to the technology code base or delays in the tech release. We do our best to give you an accurate estimate of the publication date at any given time, and as more chapters are delivered, the more accurate the delivery date will become.

How will I know when new chapters are ready? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

We'll let you know every time there has been an update to a course that you've bought in Early Access. You'll get an email to let you know there has been a new chapter, or a change to a previous chapter. The new chapters are automatically added to your account, so you can also check back there any time you're ready and download or read them online.

I am a Packt subscriber, do I get Early Access? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Yes, all Early Access content is fully available through your subscription. You will need to have a paid for or active trial subscription in order to access all titles.

How is Early Access delivered? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Early Access is currently only available as a PDF or through our online reader. As we make changes or add new chapters, the files in your Packt account will be updated so you can download them again or view them online immediately.

How do I buy Early Access content? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Early Access is a way of us getting our content to you quicker, but the method of buying the Early Access course is still the same. Just find the course you want to buy, go through the check-out steps, and you’ll get a confirmation email from us with information and a link to the relevant Early Access courses.

What is Early Access? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Keeping up to date with the latest technology is difficult; new versions, new frameworks, new techniques. This feature gives you a head-start to our content, as it's being created. With Early Access you'll receive each chapter as it's written, and get regular updates throughout the product's development, as well as the final course as soon as it's ready.We created Early Access as a means of giving you the information you need, as soon as it's available. As we go through the process of developing a course, 99% of it can be ready but we can't publish until that last 1% falls in to place. Early Access helps to unlock the potential of our content early, to help you start your learning when you need it most. You not only get access to every chapter as it's delivered, edited, and updated, but you'll also get the finalized, DRM-free product to download in any format you want when it's published. As a member of Packt, you'll also be eligible for our exclusive offers, including a free course every day, and discounts on new and popular titles.