Overview

Project Overview

Welcome to the localization project! In this project, you will learn to utilize ROS packages to accurately localize a mobile robot inside a provided map in the Gazebo and RViz simulation environments.

Over the course of this lesson, you will learn about several aspects of robotics with a focus on ROS, including -

Building a mobile robot for simulated tasks.
Creating a ROS package that launches a custom robot model in a Gazebo world and utilizes packages like AMCL and the Navigation Stack.
Exploring, adding, and tuning specific parameters corresponding to each package to achieve the best possible localization results.

Note: Similar to project 1, you are required to document the work along the way. Use the project rubric as reference when you work through the project!

Project Instructions

Workspaces

We will be providing you with a digital workspace to work on this project. The instructions to using the workspace are provided here.

Follow the instructions in Booting the Desktop to launch your workspace's desktop gui. Follow along with the rest of the lesson and work on your project in the desktop gui!

Native Installation or Virtual Machine

If you are working with a native ROS installation or from Term-1’s VM, some of the following package installation instructions might be required, if they aren't installed already -

$ sudo apt-get install ros-kinetic-navigation
$ sudo apt-get install ros-kinetic-map-server
$ sudo apt-get install ros-kinetic-move-base
$ rospack profile
$ sudo apt-get install ros-kinetic-amcl

Please note: We won't be able to provide support for native ROS installations, but you can post in the #ros channel in the ND Slack to start discussions with your fellow students if you face any issues. Also, the VM from Term-1 will be sunset in the future.

Let’s move on to creating your own mobile robot!