Autonomous Path Pilot using ROS and Turtlebot3 Waffle_pi

This project serves as a basic example of how to address the problem of keeping a robot within a path.

Prerequisites

This project is built on:

• Ubuntu 20.04
• ROS Noetic
• Gazebo 11
• (Optional) A catkin workspace. Instructions for creating one can be found here

To run this project, you must have cloned the following packages into your workspace:

• Turtlebot3 main packages

git clone -b noetic-devel https://github.com/ROBOTIS-GIT/DynamixelSDK.git
git clone -b noetic-devel https://github.com/ROBOTIS-GIT/turtlebot3_msgs.git
git clone -b noetic-devel https://github.com/ROBOTIS-GIT/turtlebot3.git

• Turtlebot3 Simulations for use in Gazebo. Additional information can be found on the Turtlebot official site

git clone -b noetic-devel https://github.com/ROBOTIS-GIT/turtlebot3_simulations.git

Additionally, you should modify the following launch file within the package: /turtlebot3_simulations/turtlebot3_gazebo/turtlebot3_autorace.launch

<launch>
  <env name="GAZEBO_RESOURCE_PATH" value="$(find turtlebot3_gazebo)/models/turtlebot3_autorace/ground_picture" />

  <arg name="x_pos" default="0.245"/>
  <arg name="y_pos" default="-1.787"/>
  <arg name="z_pos" default="0"/>  

  <include file="$(find gazebo_ros)/launch/empty_world.launch">
    <arg name="world_name" value="$(find turtlebot3_gazebo)/worlds/turtlebot3_autorace.world" />
    <arg name="paused" value="false"/>
    <arg name="use_sim_time" value="true"/>
    <arg name="gui" value="true"/>
    <arg name="headless" value="false"/>
    <arg name="debug" value="false"/>
  </include>  

  <param name="robot_description" command="$(find xacro)/xacro --inorder $(find turtlebot3_description)/urdf/turtlebot3_waffle_pi.urdf.xacro" />
  <node pkg="gazebo_ros" type="spawn_model" name="spawn_urdf" args="-urdf -model turtlebot3_waffle_pi -x $(arg x_pos) -y $(arg y_pos) -z $(arg z_pos) -param robot_description" />
   
</launch>

How to run the Autonomous Path Pilot Project

1. Copy the files odometry.py and race_walk.py into the main package of your workspace and apply permissions with the commands:

   chmod +x odometry.py
   chmod +x race_walk.py
   

2. In a terminal, run the following commands:

   export TURTLEBOT3_MODEL=waffle_pi
   roslaunch turtlebot3_gazebo turtlebot3_autorace.launch
   

3. In another terminal, run the command: rosrun <name_of_your_package> odometry.py
4. In another terminal, run the command: rosrun <name_of_your_package> race_walk.py

Note: The intention of this project is to provide a basic framework for solving the problem of keeping the robot within the road. Feel free to fine-tune the controls and modify the approach as needed.

Video Demonstration