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Developing an Introduction to ROS and Gazebo Through the LEGO SPIKE Prime

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Robotics in Education (RiE 2021)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 1359))

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Abstract

In an effort to teach controller design in the college classroom, we have built a toolbox connecting the LEGO SPIKE Prime robotic platform, Raspberry Pi 4, Onshape CAD environment, and ROS 2/Gazebo. In this paper, we outline the exploratory process in connecting these platforms through the creation of a virtual machine package bundling all process dependencies and connections. This includes developing a library of LEGO pieces in Onshape and developing a Raspberry Pi image and a Linux VM for the laptop that can be shared across the class (all shared on Google Drive). We demonstrate the package in building a LEGO self-balancing robot and then using its ROS-controlled digital twin (drawn in Onshape) to tune the controller (PID) in the virtual world (Gazebo) and then successfully apply the controller to the LEGO robot.

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Correspondence to Therese Patrosio .

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Gervais, O., Patrosio, T. (2022). Developing an Introduction to ROS and Gazebo Through the LEGO SPIKE Prime. In: Merdan, M., Lepuschitz, W., Koppensteiner, G., Balogh, R., Obdržálek, D. (eds) Robotics in Education. RiE 2021. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1359. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82544-7_19

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