Название: Mobile Robot Programming: Adventures in Python and C (2nd Edition)
Автор: Thomas Braunl
Издательство: Springer
Год: 2023
Страниц: 193
Язык: английский
Формат: pdf (true)
Размер: 75.1 MB

This book emphasizes software design as the most important topic in modern robotics and demonstrates practical code examples in Python and C. The book introduces the free simulation system EyeSim in combination with EyeBot robots, which can be built from inexpensive embedded processors, sensors and motors – or by adapting the control inputs of model cars.

EyeSim is a free software for MacOS, Windows and Linux, which uses a realistic physics simulation engine and is source-code compatible to the EyeBot mobile robots. So, each robot program can first be tested on the simulator before running it on a real robot. EyeSim includes modules for driving, walking, swimming and diving robots, as well as for robot manipulators. EyeSim also runs on the Meta/Oculus Quest, providing a fully immersive robotics experience in virtual reality.

Contrary to common belief, the three most important topics in robotics are not Mechanics, Electronics and Software. Instead, they are Software, Software and Software! While the companion book Embedded Robotics (4th Edition 2022) keeps a balance between electronics, mechanics and software, this new book, concentrates mainly on software for mobile robots. This is where the real challenge lies and where the real innovation is happening.

In this book we demonstrate how inexpensive mobile robots such as our EyeBot robots using a Raspberry Pi controller and a camera can be programmed as well as simulated using our free EyeSim system. This simulator can realistically model movements of driving, swimming/diving and even walking robots. Our emphasis is on algorithm development, and we ensure that all software projects can run on the real robot hardware as well as on the simulation system. This means, we do not use any unrealistic simulation assumptions that would never work in the real world.

This book contains source code for most of the problems presented. To keep all these different codes in order, we use a color-coding scheme to distinguish:

• Python programs
• C/C++ programs
• SIM scripts
• Robot definition files
• Environment data files

Beginning with simple driving algorithms and sensor data processing for distance sensors, Lidar and camera, the book progresses to more complex localization and navigation tasks, as well as vision-based navigation and genetic algorithms. It concludes with artificial intelligence applications for mobile robots in traffic scenarios and full-size autonomous vehicles.

This book is suitable as a text for undergraduate and graduate courses in Robotics, Automation and Artificial Intelligence, as well as a self-study guide for practitioners and hobbyists. All robot application programs in this book are available as free downloads for MacOS, Windows, Linux, and Raspberry Pi OS.