ROS

Robot Operating System

Robot Operating System

Components of the Software System Platform

 ROS?
• ROS or Robot Operating System.
• Framework for robotic software development providing Operating System Like
functionality, including hardware abstraction, low-level-device control, message-passing
between processes, and package management.
• The origins lie in Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab and was further developed at
Willow Garage. Willow Garage is a Robot research lab.

• Available for all major operating systems

 ROS?
• ROS is an open source, free for users.
• Specifically, it is a software framework rather than an operating system
• It provides the services you would expect from an operating system including
hardware abstraction, low level device control, implementation of commonly used
functionality, message passing between processes and package management.
• It also provides tools and libraries for obtaining, building, writing and running
code across multiple computers.
 ROS
• It is not a traditional operating system like Windows, Linux and Android. Rather ROS uses the traditional
operating system (Linux, Windows, Android)

• It uses the existing operating system’s process management system, file system, user interface, program
utilities (compiler, thread, model etc.). In addition, it provides essential functions for developing robot
application software such as data transmission/reception, scheduling and error handling among many
different types of hardware in a library form.

• In addition, it develops, manages and provides various application programs based on the robot software
framework and distributed packages developed by users.
ROS: Software Framework
 Software framework for developing robot software
 It is possible to jointly develop complex programs by finely dividing
them with message exchanging method between nodes.
Supports command tools, Visualization tool Rviz, GUI toolbar rqt, 3D
simulator Gazebo
Supports modeling, sensing, recognition, navigation and
manipulation functions commonly used in robotics
ROS Add Ons
 rqt
 rqt is a software framework of ROS that implements the various GUI tools in the form
of plugins. One can run all the existing GUI tools as dockable windows within rqt!
The tools can still run in a traditional standalone method, but rqt makes it easier to
manage all the various windows on the screen at one moment. A QT based GUI
developed for ROS
 rqt
• A QT based GUI developed for ROS
• Lots of different plugins.
 `rqt_graph`, `rqt_image_view`, `rqt_console` to name a few.
`rqt_graph` can be used to view the graph structure of the system,
i.e the nodes, and how are they related etc.
• Multiple plugins can be run simultaneously.
• Anyone can add more custom plugins written in C++ or Python.
 RVIZ : ROS
• A Powerful tool for 3D Visualization in ROS
• Modular state and sensor visualization
• Excellent community support.
Gazebo Simulator
• Simulate 3D rigid body dynamics
• Simulate a variety of different sensors, many of them are available
online ready to use.
• Has many environments and robots pre-implemented.
• With ROS interface, it can be used to directly to test the applications
inside a simulation.
• Has even more plugins available.
 ROS-enabled operating system
• Traditional operating system
Ubuntu, Windows, Fedora, OS X, Gentoo, OpenSUSE, Debian,
Raspbian, Arch, QNX Realtime OS. (There can be functional limitations
in some OS)
Partially available for Android and iOS, smartphone operating system
In case of microcontroller unit (MCU) which can not be equipped
with OS, it provides a library to communicate via serial
communication, Bluetooth and LAN.
Basically it is recommended to run on Ubuntu
 Philosophy of ROS
• Peer to Peer: Individual programs (nodes) communicate over ROS API
(messages, etc.)
• Distributed: Nodes can communicate over a network.
• Multilingual: Native support for C++, Python and Lisp, Experimental
support exist for Java and Lua too. Client Libraries for MATLAB etc.
• Light Weight: Doesn’t slow the programs or even hinder their ability
to work with other frameworks.
• Free and Open Source
 What ROS isn’t?
• An actual Operating System
• A programming Language
• A programming environment/IDE
• A hardware
 ROS terms
• Node: The smallest unit of executable processors i.e. sensors, actuators etc. It can be regarded as
single executable program. In ROS, a system is consist of many nodes. Each node transmits and
receives data by message communication

• Package: One or more nodes, information for node execution . Also bundles of packages are called
as metapackages.

• Message: Data is transmitted and received through message between nodes. Messages can have
various types such as integer, floating point and Boolean. You can also use structures such as a
simple data structure and an array of messages that hold messages in the message.
ROS terms Topic, Publisher, Subscriber
ROS terms Service, Service server, Service Client
ROS terms Action, Action server, Action Client
Message Communication
Understanding Message Communication
• The most fundamental technical point of ROS: message communication
among nodes
Understanding Message Communication
1. Run Master: XMLRPC(XML-Remote Procedure Call)
 $ roscore
Understanding Message Communication
2. Run Subscriber node
 $rosrun packagename nodename
Understanding Message Communication
3. Run Publisher node
 $rosrun packagename nodename
Understanding Message Communication
4. Publisher Information
 The master informs the subscriber node of the new publisher
information
Understanding Message Communication
5. Request access to the publisher node
 Request TCPROS connection using the publisher information from the
master
Understanding Message Communication
6. Connection response to subscriber node
 Return TCP URL and port number corresponding to the connection
response
Understanding Message Communication
7. TCP Connection
 Establish connection with the publisher node using TCPROS
Understanding Message Communication
8. Send Message
 The publisher node sends a message to the subscriber node (topic)
Understanding Message Communication
• In Topic mode, message are continuously transmitted unless the connection is
terminated. That is continuity.

Topic Message Transmission

Understanding Message Communication
9. Service Request and Response
 For only once, service request and service response are performed
and disconnected from each other
Understanding Message Communication
• Unlike the topic, the service connects only once and disconnected
after a service request and a service response are performed. That is,
it is one-time.
Summing up again
Understanding the message communication concept

• turtlesim package
• roscore
• rosrun turtlesim turtlesim_node
• rosrun turtlesim turtle_teleop_key
• rosrun rqt_graph rqt_graph
Catching the message communication concept
10. Example! turtlesim
Message
ROS Message
 ROS shell commands
Commands Command description Detailed Description

roscd ros+cd (changes directory) Move to the directory of the specified ROS package

rosls ros+ls(lists file) Check the list of files in the ROS package

rosed ros+ed (editor) Edit file in the ROS package

roscp ros+cp(copies files) Copy file in the ROS package

rospd ros+pushd Add Directories to the ROS Directory Index

rosd ros+directory Check the ROS directory index

 ROS shell commands
Commands Command description Detailed Description

roscore ros+core -master (ROS name service)

-rosout (record logs)
-parameter server (Manage parameters)
rosrun ros+run Run the Node

roslaunch ros+ed (editor) Run multiple nodes with options

rosclean ros+clean Check or delete ROS log files

rostopic ros+topic Check ROS topic information

rosservice ros+service Check ROS service information

 ROS shell commands
Commands Command description Detailed Description

rosnode ros+node Check ROS node information

rosparam ros+param(parameter) Check and modify ROS parameter information

rosbag ros+bag ROS message recording, playback

rosmsg ros+msg Check ROS message information

rossrv ros+srv Check ROS service information

roswtf ros+wtf ROS system Inspection

rosversion ros+version Check ROS Package, Release Version information

 ROS shell commands
Commands Detailed Description

catkin_create_pkg Automatically generates a package

catkin_make Builds based on the Catkin build system

catkin_eclipse Converts the package created by the Catkin build system for Eclipse

catkin_prepare_release Log cleanup and version Lagging for release

catkin_generate_changelog Creates or Updates the CHANGELOG.rst file for release

catkin_init_workspace Initializes the workspace of Catkin build system

catkin_find Search catkin

catkin_make clean Clean all projects in workspace

 ROS shell commands
Commands Command description Detailed Description

rospack ros+pack(package) Displays information related to the ROS package

rosinstall ros+install Installs additional package for ROS

rosdep ros+dep(dependicies) Install dependency files for the pacakage

roslocate ros+locate Acquires information regarding ROS package

roscreate-pkg ros+create-pkg Automatically generates ROS package(used in old rosbuild

system)
rosmake ros+make Builds the ROS package (formerly used by the rosbuild
system)