RB401Semester 53 (2-0-2)Major

Robot Operating System (ROS)

Syllabus

Unit 1: ROS Fundamentals and Communication

ROS design principles (modularity, distributed systems, hardware abstraction), ROS master (roscore) and graph concepts, Node architecture and lifecycle, ROS topics (publish/subscribe model, QoS policies), ROS services (request/response), ROS parameters (global configuration), ROS messages and serialization (msg/srv/action definitions), ROS command line tools (rostopic, rosservice, rosparam).

Unit 2: ROS Packages, Workspaces, and Tools

Catkin build system and workspace structure (src, devel, build), Package manifest (package.xml), CMakeLists.txt configuration, ROS launch files (parameter substitution, remapping, namespaces), RViz visualization (displays, panels, plugins), rqt tools suite (rqt_graph, rqt_console, rqt_plot), Gazebo simulator integration and URDF modeling.

Unit 3: TF and Robot Kinematics

TF (Transform) library and frame transforms, Static/dynamic broadcasters and listeners, TF trees and visualization, Forward kinematics using KDL, Denavit-Hartenberg parameters, Inverse kinematics solvers, ROS Control framework (hardware_interface, controller_manager), Joint trajectory controllers.

Unit 4: ROS Navigation Stack

ROS navigation architecture (move_base, costmaps, global/local planners), AMCL (Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization), SLAM (gmapping, cartographer, hdl_graph_slam), Path planning algorithms (A*, DWA, TEB), Recovery behaviors and costmap configuration, Nav2 stack improvements (Behavior Trees, SMAC planner), Map server and lifecycle management.

Unit 5: ROS 2, Perception, and Advanced Topics

ROS 2 DDS middleware (CycloneDDS, Fast-RTPS), ROS 2 nodes and executables (colcon build system), Composition and launch improvements, ROS-Industrial (URDF for manufacturing), Perception pipelines (PCL point clouds, OpenCV integration), MoveIt motion planning (OMPL planners, collision checking), ROS realtime extensions and micro-ROS for embedded systems.

Skills

Data StructuresAlgorithmsOperating SystemsCloud ComputingRoboticsEmbedded SystemsBlockchainCommunication Skills

Structure

Semester: 5

Credits: 3 (2-0-2)

Category: Major

Practicals

Lab 1: ROS Workspace and Basic Nodes: Focuses on creating catkin workspaces, publisher/subscriber nodes, launch files, and parameter servers.
Lab 2: Custom Message Types and Services: Focuses on defining msg/srv/action files, implementing service clients/servers, and message serialization.
Lab 3: TF Transform Broadcasting: Focuses on static/dynamic TF broadcasters, frame hierarchies, and RViz visualization of transform trees.
Lab 4: URDF Robot Modeling: Focuses on creating URDF models with links/joints, meshes, sensors, and Gazebo simulation plugins.
Lab 5: ROS Control Implementation: Focuses on hardware interfaces, joint controllers, and gazebo_ros plugins for simulated robot control.
Lab 6: Navigation Stack Configuration: Focuses on map creation, AMCL localization, path planning, and obstacle avoidance tuning.
Lab 7: SLAM Implementation: Focuses on gmapping/cartographer SLAM with real/simulated robot data, loop closure analysis.
Lab 8: MoveIt Motion Planning: Focuses on MoveIt setup assistant, planning scenes, collision objects, and pick/place pipelines.
Lab 9: Perception Pipeline Development: Focuses on point cloud processing, object detection, and camera-LiDAR fusion.
Lab 10: Complete ROS Robotics Application: Focuses on autonomous navigation project integrating localization, mapping, planning, and manipulation.