Navigation Stack for iRobot Create 2 with Rplidar a1

Usage Instructions

System Requirements

• Ubuntu 20.04
• ROS 1 Noetic

Installation Steps

1. Install Turtlebot3 & Rplidar Packages: Ensure that the Turtlebot3 and rplidar are installed on your system.

   https://github.com/Slamtec/rplidar_ros

   https://github.com/ROBOTIS-GIT/turtlebot3/tree/noetic-devel

2. Clone Repository

Clone the repository to your ROS workspace (src folder).

git clone https://github.com/SwxTemp/Create-Robot-Navigation.git

3. Update USB Serial Port Names:

• Navigate to the following files:
  • create_robot/create_bringup/config/default.yaml
  • rplidar_ros/launch/rplidar_a1.launch
• Update the USB serial port names as needed. Typically, one is named USB1 and the other is named USB0.

4. Build Workspace:

catkin build

Build your ROS workspace.

If you encounter any errors, try clean the workspace and build again:

catkin clean

Running the Navigation System

1. Launch Navigation System:

roslaunch create_navigation create_navigation.launch

2. This launch command will automatically perform the following tasks:

• Initialize the lidar a1
• Start the iRobot Create2
• Launch the Map Server
• Run the AMCL (Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization) Node
• Activate the Move Base
• Launch Rviz for visualization

Running the Simulation

roscore

roslaunch create_gazebo create_world.launch

roslaunch create_navigation create_navigation.launch map_file:=$HOME/map/gix_map_2f.yaml

• The default world model is gix-2f that you can get in world folder

• The default map_file is gix_map_2f.yaml and gix_map_2f.pgm

• Remember to change the map_file with your local file position

• You can also use the following command to visualize robot in Rviz: roslaunch create_gazebo create_gazebo_rviz.launch

• And then use teleop tool to control the robot: roslaunch create_teleop create_teleop.launch

How to use creat_slam to build map

In simulation

• Open a world model: roslaunch create_gazebo create_world.launch
• Run slam launch file: roslaunch create_slam create_slam.launch slam_methods:=gmapping
• Control robot move: roslaunch create_teleop create_teleop.launch
• Save the map: rosrun map_server map_saver -f ~/path/to/save

Use physical robot

• Connect with the physical robot
• Run slam launch file: roslaunch create_slam create_slam.launch slam_methods:=gmapping
• Control robot move: roslaunch create_teleop create_teleop.launch
• Save the map: rosrun map_server map_saver -f ~/path/to/save

Use Raspberry Pi to drive robot and laptop to navigate

Prerequisites

• Ensure ROS is installed on both the Raspberry Pi and the laptop. This guide assumes you are using ROS Noetic.
• Both devices must be connected to the same network.

Network Configuration

Step 1: Determine IP Addresses

On both the Raspberry Pi and the laptop, open a terminal and run:

hostname -I

Note down the IP addresses displayed.

Step 2: Configure Environment Variables

On both devices, you will need to set up the ROS network environment variables in the ~/.bashrc file.

On Raspberry Pi (ROS Master)

Add the following lines to ~/.bashrc:

export ROS_MASTER_URI=http://[Pi_IP_address]:11311
export ROS_HOSTNAME=[Pi_IP_address]

Replace [Pi_IP_address] with the IP address noted earlier.

On Laptop (ROS Node)

Add the following lines to ~/.bashrc:

export ROS_MASTER_URI=http://[Pi_IP_address]:11311
export ROS_HOSTNAME=[Laptop_IP_address]

Replace [Pi_IP_address] and [Laptop_IP_address] with their respective IP addresses.

After modifying ~/.bashrc, apply the changes by running:

source ~/.bashrc

on both devices.

Step 3: Verify Network Configuration

Ensure that both devices can communicate with each other via the ROS master. On the laptop, you can check if it can see the ROS master by running:

rostopic list

This command should return a list of active ROS topics if the network is configured correctly.

Running the Launch Files

On Raspberry Pi

First Update USB Serial Port Names:

• Navigate to the following files:
  • create_robot/create_bringup/config/default.yaml
  • rplidar_ros/launch/rplidar_a1.launch

Navigate to the directory containing the pi_launch.launch file and run:

roslaunch create_navigation pi_launch.launch

On Laptop

Navigate to the directory containing the laptop_launch.launch file and run:

roslaunch create_navigation laptop_launch.launch

Troubleshooting

• Unable to Communicate Between Devices: Check if both devices have the correct IP settings in ~/.bashrc and are on the same network. Also, ensure there are no firewall settings blocking the necessary ports (especially 11311).

• Commands Not Recognized: Ensure that ROS is properly installed and that you have sourced the setup file in ~/.bashrc with:or the appropriate path for your ROS installation.

  source /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash