AgileX Robotics promotes improved quality of scientific research and education with ROS2
The emergence of ROS has enabled the robotics industry to develop rapidly under a common framework. Thanks to the creation of a diverse robotics ecosystem and the application of ROS, robotic control, perception, and decision-making can be better organized and operated. With the increasing depth of robot research, design, and application, robots have been deployed in diverse environments, such as logistics and distribution, security and inspection, and special operations. As a result of the diversity of industrial applications, there are also increasing demands on robot navigation, tasks, scheduling, operation, system stability and scalability, and even cost evaluation.
Facing these demands, ROS version 1 has gradually emerged, with problems such as its unique robot system, single platform, poor real-time performance, low stability, high network requirements, and poor confidentiality, making it unable to meet the task requirements that complex environments currently place on robots. The birth and application of ROS 2 offers the possibility and feasibility for robots to overcome current obstacles in development. Based on this, the AgileX robotics research and education team carefully classified current industry needs and concerns through in-depth exploration and research on ROS version 2, designed and developed the world's first open-source ROS 2 mobile robot navigation education kit: the ROS 2 EDU Kit.
The ROS 2 EDU Kit is available in two versions: ROS 2 EDU Lite and ROS 2 EDU Pro, to meet the research, training, and application needs of different users. The kit is based on the SCOUT MINI series AgileX autonomous mobile robot platform, with the ROS 2 Foxy version as the core, equipped with 2D LiDAR, a 9-axis IMU, a dual-purpose depth camera, and other sensors. The industrial control machine adopts the X86 architecture and incorporates new functions, such as NAV 2 and Gazebo 11, based on the Ubuntu 20.04 system. The core navigation components of NAV 2 are fully compatible with the official new NAV functions, providing a comprehensive and comprehensive platform for developing learning and research robots on ROS 2, aimed at scientific training.
What does the ROS 2 NAV kit do?
1) The ROS 2 NAV Kit has a full version of ROS 2 Foxy, so you can experience the new features of ROS 2 in full.
Figure 1: ROS2 FOXY FITZROY
2) The ROS 2 kit is installed with the Gazebo 11 simulation development environment. You can simulate it in the visual interface or download the ROS 2 simulation package from the official Github platform for AgileX Robotics (all models support ROS 2), which is more efficient and convenient.
Figure 2: Based on the Gazebo 11 route simulation
3) The ROS 2 EDU kit can build a point cloud map based on Cartographer.
Figure 3: Built on Cartographer's point cloud map
4) The ROS 2 EDU kit can perform investigations and demonstrations of SLAM algorithms based on the NAV 2 navigation stack.
Figure 4: Construction of the indoor environment SLAM algorithm
Figure 5: NAV2 navigation stack
5) The ROS 2 EDU kit supports the NAV 2 navigation stack
Figure 6: Robot barrier avoidance algorithm
Figure 7: Simulation of the robotic barrier avoidance algorithm in indoor environments
6) The ROS 2 EDU kit also supports NOMACTHING remote programming.
To make it easy for everyone to see the difference between ROS 2 and ROS 1, we've listed the corresponding new features below:
The AgileX Robotics NAV Kit adapts all the features of ROS2 and helps users conduct research and development of ROS2-based mobile robots. In recent years, this research has attracted interest from those involved in agricultural, military, outdoor surveying and exploration, patrol and security, and other industrial applications, as well as unmanned vehicle research. It features software and hardware capabilities for scientific research, teaching, and presentations, and can be developed, tested, and distributed safely and cost-effectively.
As a leader in the ROS open source ecosystem, AgileX Robotics fully understands the needs and challenges of ROS2 scenarios. From a customer perspective, the entire AgileX chassis series also supports ROS2 simultaneously. AgileX aims to lower the threshold for ROS2 development, enhance the high modularity and multiplexing capabilities of robots, simplify task volume, and experience the efficiency of human-AI collaboration.
You can find detailed information about the ROS2 kit on the official AgileX GitHub or through the Marketing and Sales team. You can also share your experiences and feedback in the official AgileX online community (https://community.agilex.ai). We will publish technical articles regularly, and you can chat in the AgileX community and on GitHub.
