Chapter 3. Driving Around with TurtleBot

It is time for a real ROS robot! A robot called TurtleBot will be discussed and described both in simulation and as the real robot. In this chapter, you will learn how to move TurtleBot as a simulated robot and as the real robot. Even if you do not have a real TurtleBot, the examples in this chapter will teach you the techniques to control a mobile robot.

After introducing TurtleBot 2, we will cover the following topics:

• Loading the TurtleBot simulation software and using Gazebo with TurtleBot
• Setting up your system to control a real TurtleBot from its own netbook computer or wirelessly from a remote computer
• Controlling the movement of the TurtleBot with ROS terminal commands or using the keyboard for control in teleoperation
• Creating a Python script which, when executed, moves TurtleBot
• Using rqt tools to provide a GUI that aids the user in analyzing robot programs and also monitoring and controlling the robot
• Exploring an environment using TurtleBot's odometry data
• Executing the automatic docking program of TurtleBot
• Introducing a newer version of TurtleBot, called TurtleBot 3, and describing the simulation and keyboard control of a real TurtleBot 3