Raghav-B / remote-snr-bot

Search and rescue robot with SLAM based on ROS

Alex - A Pi-based search and rescue robot

Capabilities:

• Remote control over network using Robot Operating System
• Localization and mapping using the SLAM algorithm on a LIDAR
• Colour detection using the PiCamera running OpenCV
• Active collision prevention using ultrasonic sensors

System Architecture:

Setting up everything

• Creating catkin workspace
  • Install ROS using these instructions
  • Create a catkin workspace
  • Run the following command: vim ~/.bashrc. Append the following line and save and exit: source <your catkin workspace path>.
  • Close all terminals.
• Setting up Alex's ROS package
  • Navigate to your caktin workspace, in the src folder, go and clone this repository.
  • Open a new terminal here and run chmod a+x -R 03-03-01_alexplaydespacito/*.
  • Skip this step if you do not intend to interface betwen two different machines.
    Enter this folder and edit alex_startup.bash. In lines 9 and 10, you want to change the IP in ROS_IP to your machine's current IP address. You have to ensure that you're connected to the same network as the Pi though.
  • cd back to the catkin workspace, one directory above the current src folder.
  • Open a terminal here and run catkin_make. Hopefully everything should compile properly.
• Running alex
  • ./alex_startup.bash. Enter the password of the Pi whenever it asks. It should ask you 3 or 4 times.
  • After about a minute, RVIZ should open up and there should be one terminal that says CLI node has started. Use this node to interface with the Pi.
  • Command format: <w, a, s, d, W, A, S, D> <distance> <speed> OR <p, P> for taking photo. Example: w 90 90

Running individual modules

• Do this if you need to debug a certain module on a single machine without communication across different machines.
  • Ensure you've followed the steps in "Creating catkin workspace".
  • Open a new terminal and run roscore
  • Open a new terminal and run rosrun alex_main_pkg main_node
  • Open a new terminal and run rosrun alex_main_pkg cli_node
  • Open a new terminal and run rosrun alex_main_pkg camera_node
  • Now you can test the different nodes easily. Just remember to push your changes to the raspberry pi as well if they're final.