Joseph / Furmankiewicz / Cacace Mastering ROS 2 for Robotics Programming

Design, build, simulate, and prototype complex robots using the Robot Operating System 2
4. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-83620-900-3
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 576 Seiten

The rising demand for advanced robotics software has made proficiency in frameworks like ROS 2 essential for engineers and enthusiasts alike.
Lentin Joseph, co-founder of RUNTIME Robotics, and Jonathan Cacace, PhD in robotics, help you grasp the foundational concepts and practical applications in this comprehensive fourth edition updated to cover the latest LTS release from 2024-ROS 2 Jazzy. Starting with a solid introduction to ROS 2, including core components and tools, the chapters get you ready to start programming and using its key features confidently. Building on this, the book focuses on 3D robot modeling and simulation with the new Gazebo Sim, supported by ROS 2 controllers. You'll explore high-level features such as Nav2 for navigation and MoveIt 2 for manipulation, which are crucial for developing advanced systems. You'll also dive into aerial robotics with ROS 2 and learn how to build real-world robots using Micro-ROS. The concluding chapters cover advanced topics like CI/CD workflows, interfacing ROS 2 with large language model (LLM) agents for intelligent planning, and applying deep reinforcement learning for autonomy.
By the end of this book, you'll have a strong foundation in ROS 2, along with the skills needed to build sophisticated, real-world robotic applications.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Joseph, Lentin

Furmankiewicz, Michal "Furman"

Cacace, Jonathan

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Informatik Rechnerarchitektur

Leseproben

Preface

ROS 2, the Robot Operating System 2, is a major milestone in robotics software development. More than just a tool, it is a modular, open-source ecosystem designed to support the creation of scalable, distributed, and intelligent robotic systems. Its adoption has grown rapidly across sectors—from startups developing autonomous robots, to aerospace and manufacturing companies, to leading research institutions—thanks to its strong community, robust architecture, and a rich set of tools that streamline the development of complex robotics applications. is a comprehensive guide designed for developers and roboticists who want to go beyond the basics and learn how to leverage the full capabilities of ROS 2. Whether you’re building mobile robots, manipulators, drones, or hybrid systems, this book will provide you with the knowledge and practical skills needed to develop and integrate advanced robotic behaviors using ROS 2.

We will begin by introducing the ROS 2 architecture and programming model, guiding you through setting up your development environment and creating your first nodes using C++. From there, we will cover key ROS 2 concepts—topics, services, actions, parameters, and launch systems—providing real-world examples along the way. As we move forward, you’ll learn how to:

• Build 3D models of robots and use them with simulators like Gazebo to test behavior in realistic environments
• Implement robot control systems with the framework
• Develop behavior trees for task planning using the library
• Use ROS 2 Navigation Stack (Nav2) to enable autonomous movement
• Apply robot manipulation with MoveIt 2 for grasping and motion planning
• Incorporate sensor data and vision systems into perception pipelines
• Work with aerial robots using ROS 2 interfaces and control systems

Advanced chapters will introduce you to modern practices, such as writing tests, setting up continuous integration and deployment pipelines for ROS 2 packages, and using cloud-native tools to build robust robotics software. You’ll also explore how to interface ROS 2 with artificial intelligence, including:

• Task planning using large language models
• Training reinforcement learning agents with ROS 2 environments
• Creating custom visualization and simulation plugins for more interactive development

Additionally, you will learn how to connect motors with ROS 2 nodes using Raspberry Pi boards.

This book is filled with practical examples helping you improve programming ROS 2 applications. The code examples in the book are based on ROS 2’s jazzy, the latest long-term-support distributions and compatible with widely used robot platforms. We hope this book becomes a valuable companion in your own robotics journey and helps you to truly master ROS 2.

Let’s get started!

Who this book is for

This book is intended for robotic software developers and IT professionals who have a foundational understanding of robotics and ROS programming. Readers should be familiar with Ubuntu Linux and command-line tools, have basic experience with C++, and have the foundational knowledge of robotics concepts to fully benefit from the content.

What this book covers

, , introduces the Robot Operating System 2 (ROS 2), its architecture, communication mechanisms, and its advantages over ROS 1. It sets the foundation for developing modern, distributed robotic systems.

, , walks you through setting up a ROS 2 development environment on Ubuntu, creating and building packages, and writing basic publisher and subscriber nodes in C++.

, , dives into core ROS 2 functionalities, such as services, actions, parameters, and lifecycle nodes, demonstrating how to build modular and maintainable robotic software.

, , explains how to create 3D robot models using URDF and Xacro, including sensor and actuator integration, and how to visualize the models using RViz.

, , shows how to set up robot simulations using Gazebo, Webots, and Nvidia Omniverse, integrating ROS 2 interfaces for testing robot behavior in virtual environments.

, , explores how to configure and use the framework to manage hardware interfaces and controllers for differential, wheeled, and articulated robots.

, , introduces the BehaviorTree.CPP library and explains how to create flexible and reactive decision-making logic for robotic tasks.

, , covers the setup and configuration of the ROS 2 Navigation Stack (Nav2), including map building, localization, path planning, and obstacle avoidance for mobile robots.

, , provides a practical guide to using MoveIt 2 for robot arm planning, motion execution, collision checking, and integration with perception systems.

, , introduces tools and libraries for integrating cameras and depth sensors with ROS 2, processing sensor data, and using it for object detection and scene understanding.

, , explores the integration of ROS 2 with aerial robot platforms such as drones, including flight control, localization, and sensor integration.

, , explains how to build and interface with ROS 2 and Nav 2, a cheap Do It Yourself robot, using a Raspberry pi board and eclectic motors and micro controllers.

, , presents best practices for testing ROS 2 packages, setting up CI pipelines, and deploying software updates reliably in robotic systems.

, , explores how to integrate LLMs with ROS 2 for high-level task planning, command interpretation, and natural language interfaces.

, , introduces deep reinforcement learning concepts and demonstrates how to train and evaluate policies for robot control using ROS 2 environments.

, , covers how to extend RViz and simulation tools with custom plugins to support visualization and interaction with specialized robot components and data.

To get the most out of this book

Before diving into the content, it’s important to clarify the foundational knowledge and tools that will help you make the most of this book. This book assumes that you have a basic understanding of C++ and are comfortable working in a Linux environment, particularly Ubuntu, as many of the examples and tools are designed and tested on this platform. You do not need to be an expert, but familiarity with command-line usage and package management.

As for hardware requirements, a standard computer is enough for most chapters, though in a few cases, having a GPU-enabled system with an NVIDIA card is suggested but not required. Finally, standard webcams and depth sensors are used in the computer vision chapter.

Download the example code files

The code bundle for the book is hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Mastering-ROS-2-for-Robotics-Programming. We also have other code bundles from our rich catalog of books and videos available at https://github.com/PacktPublishing. Check them out!

Download the color images

We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. You can download it here: https://packt.link/gbp/9781836209010.

This book contains some wide screenshots. These have been captured to provide readers with an overview of the entire console. As a result, the text on these images may appear small at 100% zoom. Kindly refer to color images in the graphics bundle above for better comprehension.

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

: Indicates code words in text, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs or user command input. Here is an example: “After enabling the repository, let’s add the key and list “

A block of code is set as follows: