Robotino4 — ROS 2 (Humble)

This repository contains ROS 2 packages for the Robotino4 platform (base drivers, navigation integration and robot description/simulation). Each package in this repository includes a tutorial in its docs/ folder that explains the available launch files and installiation guide for common robotic tasks (simulation, mapping, navigation, teleop, sensor bring‑up).

Supported platform

• Ubuntu 22.04
• ROS 2 Humble

Packages in this repository

• robotino4 — base node, serial drivers, odometry, Nav2 integration.
• robotino4_description — URDF, Gazebo worlds, models, RViz configs and sensor launch files.

Documentation and tutorials

• Each package contains a tutorial under docs/ that focuses on the launch files:
  • docs/robotino4/ — explains installiations and launch files.
  • docs/robotino4_description/ — explains Robotino in Gazebo simulation use case.

Common launch files and its usage purpose

Robotino4 Package

• robotino4/launch/robotino4_base.launch.py
  • Purpose: Start the base node, serial interface, odometry and TF for the real robot.
  • Use when running on a physical Robotino with proper serial connection.
• robotino4/launch/robotino4_teleop.launch.py
  • Purpose: Start teleoperation (keyboard/joystick) mapped to the base.
  • Use for manual driving, testing safety limits and tuning.
• robotino4/launch/nav2_robotino.launch.py
  • Purpose: Full Nav2 bringup with robot-specific parameters and controllers (DWB).
  • Use for autonomous navigation on the real robot (requires sensors and localization).
• robotino4/launch/cartographer_robotino.launch.py
  • Purpose: Run Cartographer for SLAM/mapping.
  • Use for offline or online map building (see cartographer config in robotino4_description/config).
• robotino4/launch/robotino4_lidar.launch.py
  • Purpose: Bring up Sick LMS100 (or configured lidar) driver and topics.
  • Use when attaching the specified lidar to the robot.
• robotino4/launch/nav2_seg.launch.py
  • Purpose: Nav2 bringup using the Segmentation Costmap Plugin (semantic costmaps).
  • Use when you want segmentation-based obstacle handling -see docs/robotino4 for configuration.
  • This requires the Segmentation-Costmap-Plugin Package - see our ROS2 Semantic Navigation repository

Robotino4_Description Package

• robotino4_description/launch/robotino4_gazebo.launch.py
  • Purpose: Spawn the Robotino4 model in Gazebo with sensors for simulation.
  • Use for simulation, algorithm testing and visualization without hardware.
• robotino4_description/launch/robotino4_realsense.launch.py
  • Purpose: Start RealSense (or similar) sensor bridges used in descriptors and perception.
  • Use when running perception stacks that require depth/color streams.

Quick start (clone, build, run)

1. Clone into your ROS 2 workspace:

   cd ~/ros2_ws/src
   git clone <this-repo-url>

2. Install dependencies:

   rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y

3. Build:

   cd ~/ros2_ws
   colcon build

4. Source:

   source ~/ros2_ws/install/setup.bash

5. Examples:
   • Real robot base:

     ros2 launch robotino4 robotino4_base.launch.py

   • Nav2 (real or simulated robots; ensure sensors/localization are running):

     ros2 launch robotino4 nav2_robotino.launch.py

   • Segmentation-based Nav2:

     ros2 launch robotino4 nav2_seg.launch.py

   • Gazebo simulation:

     ros2 launch robotino4_description robotino4_gazebo.launch.py

Where to find the launch-file tutorial

• Open docs// in the corresponding package directory. The tutorial lists:
  • Every launch file,
  • Required preconditions (hardware, topics, parameters),
  • Typical command examples,
  • Troubleshooting tips and parameter locations.