ROS-Industrial ROS2-based Navigation* (32 hours)

ROS Navigation Stack is one of the most popular navigation solutions in mobile robots since 2010. It allows mobile robots to move around autonomously and address industry applications such as distributed delivery, security surveillance, autonomous cleaning, and many more. The ROS Navigation2 stack is a new and improved version compatible with the latest ROS2 distributions. It inherits a set of foundational implementations of algorithms, including A* and Dynamic Window Approach (DWA) for planning and control from Navigation1, and added features such as behavior tree navigator and task-specific asynchronous servers to achieve high modularity.

ROS2 provides real-time capabilities compared to ROS1, and it utilizes the Data Distribution Service (DDS) as the communication protocol. DDS is used in real-time applications such as aircraft, missile systems, and financial systems. Industry-grade mobile robots navigating more than 2m/s in dynamic environments must adhere to stringent safety and security standards. Navigation2 is designed to sit on a higher application layer of ROS2 to address such safety standards and determinism, enabling robots to function in time-critical situations.

About the Programme

This course introduces the latest sensor technologies, navigation algorithms, and deep dive into the Navigation2 architecture. Some of the typical sensors used in robot navigation include inertial measurement units (IMUs), vision sensors, and range sensors, among many others.

Participants will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with industry-grade sensors and robots and explore the current and future changes within the research landscape on navigation algorithms methodology.

Navigation2 is highly modular for integrating new sensors and new algorithms. Apart from the basic setup of the Navigation stack in a real robot, industrial experts will demonstrate how to integrate new sensors and implement new algorithm plugins for different use case applications. Finally, continuous integration pipeline of the navigation stack will be discussed and how quality assurance in robotics development can be established during the course.