For the majority of this course, we will work on developing software, algorithms and functionalities
for a manipulator robot in Ros two and we will test our work in a simulator before using it on a real
robot.
To successfully complete this part of the course, you will only need a PC with ubuntu which you can
choose to install in dual boot on a partition of your drive or also in a virtual machine.
In both cases I will guide you through the installation and configuration process.
In Ubuntu.
We will then proceed to install Ros which you will need to follow along with the laboratory lesson where
we will implement all the robot's functionalities.
In the final part of the course, our project will come to life.
Moving beyond the computer and becoming reality.
The robot has a very simple structure that can be directly 3D printed.
If you have access to a 3D printer, or you can also purchase all the components at an affordable price.
It is a manipulator robot with three degrees of freedom and is equipped with a gripper for object manipulation.
The term degree of freedom refers to the number of variables needed to determine the state of a system.
In this case, the state of the system is simply the position of the gripper in the world, which is
determined by the angle formed by the base joint.
The shoulder joint and the elbow joint.
The combination of these three joints angle uniquely determines the position of the gripper of the robot
in the space.
As you may have noticed, when counting the degrees of freedom, we don't consider the angle that controls
the gripper opening, as this does not affect the gripper position in the space, but only its state.
So if it's open or closed.
Furthermore, the particular construction of this robot is called articulated parallelogram, which
allows the robot to move while keeping the gripper parallel to the base.
It also allows keeping all the motors except for the one of the gripper close to the robot's base.
This redistributes the robot's weight towards the base, increasing stability and reducing inertia.
As for the robot electronics, the control of the actuators is entrusted to an Arduino board.
For those of you who are not familiar with it, Arduino is a rapid prototyping board that can be used
to connect and control input output devices such as LEDs or motors.
For the actuation you will need for SG 90 type servo motors, or if you have already equivalent servo
motors.
These components are easily accessible at and they are often included also in the maker starter kits.
In terms of software, whether you want to simulate the robot on your PC or to build a real one, you
will always need the same tools.
That is a PC with Ubuntu installed along with ros2.
And the only difference is that if you decide to build your own robot, you will also need to install
an additional software called Arduino IDE, which we are going to use to write and upload the code to
the Arduino board.