Start from scratch and build a variety of features for autonomous mobile robots both in simulation and hardware. This book will show you how to simulate an autonomous mobile robot using ROS and then develop its hardware implementation.

You'll start by gaining an understanding of the basic theoretical concepts underlying the development of autonomous robots, including history, mathematics, electronics, mechanical aspects, 3D modelling, 3D printing, Linux, and programming. In subsequent chapters, you will learn how to describe kinematics, simulate and visualize the robot, how to interface Arduino with ROS, tele-operate the robot, perform mapping, autonomous navigation, add additional sensors, sensor fusion, laser scan matching, web interface, and more. Not only will you learn theoretical aspects, yoüll also review the hardware realization of mobile robots.

Projects start with a very basic two-wheeled mobile robot and progress to complex features such as mapping, navigation, sensor fusion, autodocking, and web interface. Upon completing this book, yoüll have incorporated important robot algorithms including SLAM, Path Finding, Localization, and Kalman Filters ¿ and you will be ready to start designing and building your own autonomous robots.

What You Will Learn

Design and build your customized physical robot with autonomous navigation capability
Create a map of your house using the robot¿s lidar scanner
Command the robot to go to any accessible location on the map
Interact with the robot using a mobile app, joystick, keyboard, push-button, or remote computer
Monitor robot updates via LCD, a mobile app, sound, and status LEDs
Automate delivery of small payloads and return to home base
Utilize autodocking to home base for battery charging
Leverage sensor fusion to improve accuracy
Interface with the robot via the Web to monitor and control it remotely

Who This Book Is For

Complete beginners who want to build customized robots from scratch. No experience is expected, although basic programming knowledge could be handy.