[RDS] 005 – ROS Development Studio #Howto use the different workspaces

In this video we show how to use the three different workspaces in ROS Developent Studio.

The three workspaces are: catkin_ws, notebook_ws and simulation_ws

What you will see in this video can be summarized in 3 steps:

1. In the simulation_ws we have used git to clone the following repository: https://bitbucket.org/theconstructcore/sphero

2. In the catkin_ws we have created a package to move the Spero robot.

3. On the notebook_ws we have created an iPython Notebook to move the robot.

The goals of each workspaces are:

1. The simulation_ws is where you put your simulation
2. The catkin_ws is where you put your code that is used to move the robot
3. The notebook_ws is where you must place your iPython Notebook files that is used to move the robot.

[ROS Q&A] 105 – How to pass arguments to a ROS node

In this video we are showing how to provide arguments to a ROS node program made in Python.
Sometimes, when you want to launch a ROS program made in Python, you need to provide some arguments to the program, so it can adapt to your specific requirement of the moment.

In this video, we show how to make an Aibo robot move based on the movement file we provide at launch time to the ROS node.

Please, bear in mind the difference between arguments (what we are teaching in this video) and parameters (that is something completely different handled by the ROS param server) .

[ROS Q&A] 104 – How to add a rotating join to Kinect in Turtlebot

We solve today a question from ROS answers that asks about how to add a rotating joint to the Turtlebot Kinect sensor: https://answers.ros.org/question/280715/include-a-rotation-axis-to-turtlebot/

Q: How to Include a rotation Axis to Turtlebot Kinect?

A: Basically, what you need is to change the type of joint that ties the Kinect to the Turtlebot structure from fixed to continuous . Then you need to add the controller for the joint. The video shows how to do it

// RELATED LINKS
* A simple example of how to create a movable joint in Gazebo: https://youtu.be/3qCh-p-hzCM

* The Turtlebot simulation used on the video (for Indigo-Gazebo 7): https://bitbucket.org/theconstructcore/turtlebot

[RDS] 004 – ROS Development Studio #Howto use git in RDS

In this video we show how to use git in RDS.

We do that by showing how to use git to clone a Gazebo Simulation of the Parrot Ardrone on the ~/simulation_ws (Simulation Workspace) and also we use git to clone a training package to the ~/catkin_ws (Catkin Workspace). This last package is used to train the robot.

Important thins about the video:

1. We use RDS (ROS Development Studio) available at: http://rds.theconstructsim.com/
2. The drone_training package used is available at: https://bitbucket.org/theconstructcore/drone_training.git
3. The Parrot Ardrone simulation is available at: https://bitbucket.org/theconstructcore/parrot_ardrone
4. If you want more details about the drone_training package you can go to https://www.theconstruct.ai/using-openai-ros/
5. The simulation was cloned to ~/simulation_ws/src
6. The training package was cloned to ~/catkin_ws/src
7. To start the training we used: roslaunch drone_training main.launch

If you prefer to use your own computer, you just have to install:

1. ROS (http://wiki.ros.org/ROS/Installation)
2. OpenAI (https://gym.openai.com/docs/)
3. Have a Gazebo simulation (https://bitbucket.org/account/user/theconstructcore/projects/PS)