Project 1 - Setting up ROS1 and TurtleSim

Seneca Polytechnic
AIG240 Robotics for Software Engineers

Due: Sunday, Jun 1, 2025 at 11:59PM on Blackboard
Weight: 10%

Introduction

In this project, you will demonstrate your achievement in setting up a ROS1 environment and creating a simple node to control a robot using TurtleSim.

Objectives

  1. Set up the ROS1 environment.
  2. Create a simple ROS node to control a robot.
  3. Answer assessment questions.

NOTE: This project must be completed individually.

Step 1: Set Up Your ROS Environment

  1. Install ROS1 as per the Lab 1 instructions.
  2. Create your ROS workspace as per the Lab 3 instructions.

Step 2: Create and Run a Simple ROS Node

Use open-source code, AI-generated code, or your own code to create a controller as described below (and in Lab 3) to make the robot move in TurtleSim.

Your node should do the following:

  • Accept a command line argument specifying the name of the turtle it should control.
    • i.e., running rosrun lab3_turtlesim turtle_controller turtle1 will start a controller node that controls turtle1.
  • Use w, a, s, d (and q, e, c, and z) to control the turtle by publish velocity control messages on the appropriate topic whenever the user presses those keys on the keyboard, as in the original turtle_teleop_key. The turtle should ONLY move when is key is pressed. When the key is released, the turtle should STOP moving.
    • Option 1 (Easy) Single keypress: In addition to just forward/backward and turns, the turtle should move forward and turn left in a circular path if q is pressed and similar for e, c, and z in their corresponding direction.
    • Option 2 (Hard) Multiple keypress: If you want to challenge your Python skills, make the controller so it listen to multiple keys. i.e., if w + a are pressed, the turtle should move forward and turn left in a circular path. If the keys pressed are contracdicting, there should be no movement. You'll need to install additional Python package to achieve this.

Hint: You'll need to use the Twist message type in the geometry_msgs package.
Hint: Refer to the turtle_teleop_key source code as a reference.

Assessment Questions

  1. What command did you use to create a ROS package?
  2. Explain why and how you used ROS messages in your program.
  3. Describe the steps to launch ROS, TurtleSim, and your ROS node simultaneously.
  4. How do you verify that your ROS node is publishing messages correctly?

Submission

  1. A link to your project folder (e.g., on GitHub (private) or Google Drive) containing all the necessary files and code.
  2. A video showing your code running in TurtleSim and the robot moving.
  3. A text file containing the answers to the questions for every group member.

Late Submission Penalty

  1. A 25% reduction from the full mark will be applied for every 24 hours the submission is late after the deadline.