Roomba Hardware Interface and ROS2 Controller

This project implements a ROS2 hardware interface and controller for the iRobot® Roomba® using the Serial Command Interface (SCI) specification. It provides a seamless way to control Roomba's movement via the Diff Drive Controller in ROS2. Make sure to use the right branch for your version. Currently available: 500er and 600er.

Provided: Foxglove layout

Features

Interface to control Roomba's velocity using ROS2 messages.

Compatible with ROS2-based systems.

Can be used to send commands to Roomba for movement control. Different controllers can be used.

Utilizes the iRobot® Roomba® Serial Command Interface (SCI) for communication.

Requirements

ROS2 (e.g., Foxy, Galactic, or Humble)

iRobot® Roomba® with SCI support

A working serial connection between the host computer and Roomba.

Setup and Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/TaylorDelta/RoombaRos2Control.git
cd roomba_ros2_controller

3. Install dependencies

Install necessary ROS2 dependencies for your workspace:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ros-<ros2-distro>-serial
sudo apt install ros-<ros2-distro>-rosbridge-server

3. Build the workspace

From your ROS2 workspace, build the project:

colcon build

4. Source the workspace

After building, source the workspace to ensure that ROS2 can find the packages:

source install/setup.bash

Launch the Roomba Controller

To launch the hardware interface and controller, run the following command:

ros2 launch robot_bringup robot_x.launch.py

This will start the necessary ROS2 nodes for controlling your Roomba robot.

Sending Commands to Roomba

You can use the Diff Drive Controller to send movement commands to Roomba. To send a command, run the following command in a separate terminal:

ros2 topic pub /diff_drive_controller/cmd_vel geometry_msgs/msg/TwistStamped "{header: {stamp: {sec: 0, nanosec: 0}, frame_id: 'base_link'}, twist: {linear: {x: 0.1, y: 0.0, z: 0.0}, angular: {x: 0.0, y: 0.0, z: 0.2}}}" -r 10

This results in the Roomba driving a circle with diameter of 1m at a speed of 100mm/s

Foxglove (Helpfull Webcontrol)

Make sure Foxglove Bridge is installed in your ROS2 workspace:

sudo apt install ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-foxglove-bridge

Start the ROS2 ↔ Foxglove WebSocket bridge

ros2 launch foxglove_bridge foxglove_bridge_launch.xml port:=8765

Foxglove needs geometry_msgs/msg/Twist, the controller wants geometry_msgs/msg/TwistStamped, so twist_bridge creates /cmd_vel_fg without stamped

ros2 run twist_bridge twist_to_stamped

Troubleshooting

Ensure that the serial connection between the computer and Roomba is properly established.

Verify that the correct serial port is being used in the launch files.

If you encounter a problem that isn’t already documented, please create a new issue. Make sure to clearly describe the problem, steps to reproduce it, and any relevant error messages.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

The iRobot® Roomba® Serial Command Interface (SCI) Specification

ROS2 and the ROS community for providing an open-source platform for robotics development.

This project uses code from RosTeamWorkspace, licensed under the Apache License 2.0.