create_autonomy

ROS driver for iRobot Create 1 and 2. This package wraps the C++ library libcreate, which uses iRobot’s Open Interface Specification.

• ROS wiki page: http://wiki.ros.org/create_autonomy
• Support: ROS Answers (tag: create_autonomy)
• Author: Jacob Perron (Autonomy Lab, Simon Fraser University)

Build Status

TravisCI (Ubuntu Trusty, ROS Indigo and Jade)

Supported Robots

+ Verified by third-party. Please note Odometry Issue #28
* Not verified. Anyone who is able to verify that this driver works or not is encouraged to contact Jacob with their findings or open an issue.

Features

Install

Prerequisites

• Internet connection
• ROS Indigo or Jade
• Ubuntu packages: python-rosdep, python-catkin-tools

$ sudo apt-get install python-rosdep python-catkin-tools

Compiling

1. Create a catkin workspace

    $ cd ~
    $ mkdir -p create_ws/src  
    $ cd create_ws  
    $ catkin init  
    

1. Clone this repo

    $ cd ~/create_ws/src
    $ git clone https://github.com/AutonomyLab/create_autonomy.git  
    

1. Install dependencies

    $ cd ~/create_ws
    $ rosdep update  
    $ rosdep install --from-paths src -i  
    

1. Build

    $ cd ~/create_ws
    $ catkin build
    

USB Permissions

1. In order to connect to Create over USB, ensure your user is in the dialout group

    $ sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER
    

1. Logout and login for permission to take effect

Running the driver

Setup

1. After compiling from source, don’t forget to source your workspace:

    $ source ~/create_ws/devel/setup.bash
    

1. Connect computer to Create’s 7-pin serial port
   • If using Create 1, ensure that nothing is connected to Create’s DB-25 port
2. Launch one of the existing launch files or adapt them to create your own.

Launch files

For Create 2 (Roomba 600/700 series):

$ roslaunch ca_driver create_2.launch

For Create 1 (Roomba 500 series):

$ roslaunch ca_driver create_1.launch

For Roomba 400 series:

$ roslaunch ca_driver roomba_400.launch

Launch file arguments

• config - Absolute path to a configuration file (YAML). Default: ca_driver/config/default.yaml
• desc - Enable robot description (URDF/mesh). Default: true

For example, if you would like to disable the robot description and provide a custom configuration file:

$ roslaunch ca_driver create_2.launch config:=/abs/path/to/config.yaml desc:=false

Parameters

Publishers

Subscribers

Commanding your Create

You can move the robot around by sending geometry_msgs/Twist messages to the topic cmd_vel:

linear.x  (+)     Move forward (m/s)
          (-)     Move backward (m/s)
angular.z (+)     Rotate counter-clockwise (rad/s)
          (-)     Rotate clockwise (rad/s)

Velocity limits

` -0.5 <= linear.x <= 0.5 and -4.25 <= angular.z <= 4.25`

Teleoperation

ca_tools comes with a launch file for teleoperating Create with a joystick.

$ roslaunch ca_tools joy_teleop.launch [joy_config:=xbox360]

There exists configuration files for the Xbox 360 wired controller and the Logitech F710 controller. You can adapt these files for your preferred joystick configuration.

Contributions

Contributing to the development and maintenance of create_autonomy is encouraged. Feel free to open issues or create pull requests on GitHub.

Contributors

• Michael Browne
  • Confirms driver works with Roomba 700 and 800 series.
• Clyde McQueen
  • Added support for sound (#37).
• Ben Wolsieffer
  • Added JointState publisher for wheels (#26).
  • Added Create 1 description (#27).