Find out everything you need to know to build powerful robots with the most up-to-date ROS About This Book * This comprehensive, yet easy-to-follow guide will help you find your way through the ROS framework * Successfully design and simulate your 3D robot model and use powerful robotics algorithms and tools to program and set up your robots with an unparalleled experience by using the exciting new features from Robot Kinetic * Use the latest version of gazebo simulator, OpenCV 3.0, and C++11 standard for your own algorithms Who This Book Is For This book is suitable for an ROS beginner as well as an experienced ROS roboticist or ROS user or developer who is curious to learn ROS Kinetic and its features to make an autonomous Robot. The book is also suitable for those who want to integrate sensors and embedded systems with other software and tools using ROS as a framework. What You Will Learn * Understand the concepts of ROS, the command-line tools, visualization GUIs, and how to debug ROS * Connect robot sensors and actuators to ROS * Obtain and analyze data from cameras and 3D sensors * Use Gazebo for robot/sensor and environment simulation * Design a robot and see how to make it map the environment, navigate autonomously, and manipulate objects in the environment using MoveIt! * Add vision capabilities to the robot using OpenCV 3.0 * Add 3D perception capabilities to the robot using the latest version of PCL In Detail Building and programming a robot can be cumbersome and time-consuming, but not when you have the right collection of tools, libraries, and more importantly expert collaboration. ROS enables collaborative software development and offers an unmatched simulated environment that simplifies the entire robot building process. This book is packed with hands-on examples that will help you program your robot and give you complete solutions using open source ROS libraries and tools. It also shows you how to use virtual machines and Docker containers to simplify the installation of Ubuntu and the ROS framework, so you can start working in an isolated and control environment without changing your regular computer setup. It starts with the installation and basic concepts, then continues with more complex modules available in ROS such as sensors and actuators integration (drivers), navigation and mapping (so you can create an autonomous mobile robot), manipulation, Computer Vision, perception in 3D with PCL, and more. By the end of the book, you'll be able to leverage all the ROS Kinetic features to build a fully fledged robot for all your needs. Style and approach This book is packed with hands-on examples that will help you program your robot and give you complete solutions using ROS open source libraries and tools. All the robotics concepts and modules are explained and multiple examples are provided so that you can understand them easily.

Your one-stop guide to the Robot Operating System About This Book * Model your robot on a virtual world and learn how to simulate it * Create, visualize, and process Point Cloud information * Easy-to-follow, practical tutorials to program your own robots In Detail If you have ever tried building a robot, then you know how cumbersome programming everything from scratch can be. This is where ROS comes into the picture. It is a collection of tools, libraries, and conventions that simplifies the robot building process. What's more, ROS encourages collaborative robotics software development, allowing you to connect with experts in various fields to collaborate and build upon each other's work. Packed full of examples, this book will help you understand the ROS framework to help you build your own robot applications in a simulated environment and share your knowledge with the large community supporting ROS. Starting at an introductory level, this book is a comprehensive guide to the fascinating world of robotics, covering sensor integration, modeling, simulation, computer vision, navigation algorithms, and more. You will then go on to explore concepts like topics, messages, and nodes. Next, you will learn how to make your robot see with HD cameras, or navigate obstacles with range sensors. Furthermore, thanks to the contributions of the vast ROS community, your robot will be able to navigate autonomously, and even recognize and interact with you in a matter of minutes. What's new in this updated edition? First and foremost, we are going to work with ROS Hydro this time around. You will learn how to create, visualize, and process Point Cloud information from different sensors. This edition will also show you how to control and plan motion of robotic arms with multiple joints using MoveIt! By the end of this book, you will have all the background you need to build your own robot and get started with ROS. What You Will Learn * Install a complete ROS Hydro system * Create ROS packages and metapackages, using and debugging them in real time * Build, handle, and debug ROS nodes * Design your 3D robot model and simulate it in a virtual environment within Gazebo * Give your robots the power of sight using cameras and calibrate and perform computer vision tasks with them * Generate and adapt the navigation stack to work with your robot * Integrate different sensors like Range Laser, Arduino, and Kinect with your robot * Visualize and process Point Cloud information from different sensors * Control and plan motion of robotic arms with multiple joints using MoveIt! Who This Book Is For If you are a robotic enthusiast who wants to learn how to build and program your own robots in an easy-to-develop, maintainable, and shareable way, this book is for you. In order to make the most of the book, you should have a C++ programming background, knowledge of GNU/Linux systems, and general skill in computer science. No previous background on ROS is required, as this book takes you from the ground up. It is also advisable to have some knowledge of version control systems, such as svn or git, which are often used by the community to share code. Style and approach This book is an easy-to-follow guide that will help you find your way through the ROS framework. This book is packed with hands-on examples that will help you program your robot and give you complete solutions using ROS open source libraries and tools.