Obstacle Avoidance on Turtlebot

Overview

ROS package to simulate obstacle avoidance behavior on a turtlebot using laser sensor. A custom world created to test the robot's behavior.

Figure 1 - Custom world created test the robot's behavior

Dependencies

• Ubuntu 16.04
• ROS Kinetic
• Gazebo
• Turtlebot Packages

Install Dependencies

• This project was developed using ROS Kinetic.
• It is highly recommended that ROS Kinetic is properly installed on your system before the use of this project.
• Follow the instructions on this link to install Full-Desktop Version of ROS Kinetic.
• The full-version would help you install Gazebo as well. If you have ROS Kinetic pre-installed on your machine, use the following link to install Gazebo on your machine.
• Ensure successful installation by running Gazebo via your terminal window:

gazebo

• A window of Gazebo Simulator should be launched.
• Create your ROS workspace by following instructions on this link.
• Install the necessary turtlebot packages:

sudo apt install ros-kinetic-turtlebot-gazebo ros-kinetic-turtlebot-apps ros-kinetic-turtlebot-rviz-launchers

Build

• Switch to your src sub-directory of your ROS workspace to clone this repository.

<ROS Workspace>/src

• Run the following commands to clone and build this project:

git clone --recursive https://github.com/urastogi885/obstacle_avoidance_simulation
cd ..
catkin_make

Run

• In the same terminal, run:

roscore

• Open a new terminal, switch to the ROS workspace, and launch the obstacle avoidance node:

cd <ROS Workspace>
source devel/setup.bash
roslaunch turtlebot_obstacle_avoidance obstacle_avoidance.launch enableRosBag:=false

• A turtlebot world will open up on the Gazebo Simulator and you will be able to see the robot avoiding various obstacles in its path.
• Change your camera view to have better look at the movement of the robot.
• Stop execution using Ctrl+C.

Generate/View Rosbag File

• You can either generate a new ROS bag file or play the rosbag file included in the results directory.
• To generate a new bag file, launch the obstacle avoidance node. (You can skip this step if you just want to play the previously generated bag file)

roslaunch turtlebot_obstacle_avoidance obstacle_avoidance.launch enableRosBag:=true

• The bag file would have been replaced with new data.
• To play the ROS bag file, make sure nothing is running except roscore, open a new terminal window, and run :

cd <ROS Workspace>
source devel/setup.bash
cd src/obstacle_avoidance_simulation/worlds
rosrun gazebo_ros gazebo turtlebot_enclosed_world.world

• The above commands will help you launch the turtlebot world in Gazebo.
• Open a new terminal, switch to ROS workspace, and run:

cd <ROS Workspace>
source devel/setup.bash
cd src/obstacle_avoidance_simulation/results
rosbag play record_obstacle_avoidance.bag

• You should be able to see the obstacle avoidance behavior on turtlebot in the Gazebo window.
• You can also verify the bag file by running: (Stop the execution of last command before proceeding any further by using Ctrl+C)

rosbag info record_obstacle_avoidance.bag

Documents

• These are located in the results sub-directory:
  • Cpplint - cpplint_output.txt
  • Cppcheck - cppcheck_output.txt
  • Rosbag - record_obstacle_avoidance.bag
  • RQT Graph Output - rqt_graph.png
  • Turtlebot World - customized_turtlebot_world.png