FOSS Robotics workshop

We will be exploring the basics of the ROS2 (Robot Operating System) system in a small group setting (max 5 participants). ROS2 is the most popular open-source framework for developing robots among engineers, and we will start from the beginning to get to know what it is, have a good overview of its architecture, and learn through practical examples what we can use it for. Prior knowledge of ROS1 is not required, but it can be helpful. During the workshop, we will focus on managing ROS2 through the Linux terminal console. If time allows, we will also try writing a program for ROS2 in Python3. Therefore, knowledge of the basics of the Linux terminal is required, and knowledge of the basics of Python is highly recommended. Computers for participants will be provided.

Timeline

Workshop is going to happen three Mondays in a row in April (7.4., 14.4., 21.4.) between 13h and 16h.

Finances

The workshop is free but participants are encouraged (but not expected) to support the mentor by making a voluntary donation to help cover his travel expenses.

Topics

• What is ROS2 (Visualization tools, communication system, code standardization)
• A brief history of the ROS system
• What problems inspired the system and what ROS2 is intended for
• Basics of control through the Linux terminal console
• Basic concepts of the communication system through practical examples (subscriber, publisher, topics, services, ...)
• Using ROS2 tools for visualization (Rviz, RQT, ...)
• Preparing a ROS2 workspace and writing a minimal program in Python3

In the workshop we will avoid the traditional teacher-student top-down approach and instead form it as a guided conversation among participants. The topics for the workshop are loosely defined in advance but the participants will be encouraged to give their own views on the topic and to propose what else we can include in the curriculum.