You're reading from ROS 2 from Scratch Get started with ROS 2 and create robotics applications with Python and C++

Product type Paperback

Published in Nov 2024

Publisher Packt

ISBN-13 9781835881408

Length 380 pages

Edition 1st Edition

Concepts

Robotics

Author (1):

Edouard Renard

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Table of Contents (20) Chapters

Preface

1. Part 1:Getting Started with ROS 2

2. Chapter 1: Introduction to ROS 2 – What Is ROS 2? FREE CHAPTER

3. Chapter 2: Installing and Setting Up ROS 2

4. Chapter 3: Uncovering ROS 2 Core Concepts

5. Part 2: Developing with ROS 2 – Python and C++

6. Chapter 4: Writing and Building a ROS 2 Node

7. Chapter 5: Topics – Sending and Receiving Messages between Nodes

8. Chapter 6: Services – Client/Server Interaction between Nodes

9. Chapter 7: Actions – When Services Are Not Enough

10. Chapter 8: Parameters – Making Nodes More Dynamic

11. Chapter 9: Launch Files – Starting All Your Nodes at Once

12. Part 3: Creating and Simulating a Custom Robot with ROS 2

13. Chapter 10: Discovering TFs with RViz

14. Chapter 11: Creating a URDF for a Robot

15. Chapter 12: Publishing TFs and Packaging the URDF

16. Chapter 13: Simulating a Robot in Gazebo

17. Chapter 14: Going Further – What To Do Next

18. Index

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19. Other Books You May Enjoy

Installing the OS (Ubuntu)

ROS 2 works on three OSs: Ubuntu, Windows, and macOS. Although Ubuntu and Windows get Tier 1 support, macOS has only Tier 3 support, meaning “best effort,” not “fully tested.” You can learn more about what Tier 1, 2, and 3 mean on the REP 2000, which describes the timeline and target platforms for ROS 2 releases: https://www.ros.org/reps/rep-2000.html.

This means that using macOS for ROS 2 is not necessarily the best choice for learning (if you’re an Apple user). We’re left with Windows or Ubuntu.

From teaching experience, I saw that even if ROS could work well on Windows, it’s not easy to install and use it correctly. Lots of bugs can occur, especially with the 2D and 3D tools. When you’re learning ROS, you want a smooth experience, and you want to spend time learning the features, not fixing the configuration.

Hence, the best overall option is to use Ubuntu. If you don’t have Ubuntu...