We are happy to announce that TurtleBot 4 now supports ROS 2 Humble. TurtleBot 4, the latest iteration in the TurtleBot series, is an open source, compact and affordable platform designed to facilitate education, development and research in robotics. It is popular for its ease of use, versatility and extensive support from the ROS community. 

 

What’s new?

The integration with ROS 2 Humble now positions TurtleBot 4 at the forefront of robotics development. This update brings many new features, including namespace support. With this addition, nodes can now be organized and named hierarchically, effectively avoiding naming conflicts. As a result, robotics applications become more organized, well-structured and scalable. Developers can now leverage the capabilities of Humble to create multi-robot systems consisting of multiple TurtleBot 4s. This feature enhances the possibilities for swarm robotic operations, offering greater flexibility, control and management of multiple robots in both simulated and real-world environments.

When it comes to improvements in TurtleBot 4 navigation, Humble now allows for ‘Mail Delivery’. In this example, a user can create a system where the robot can deliver items to different locations based on user commands. The user can interact with the system via a terminal interface, specifying desired destinations for the robot to go to with ‘Navigate to Pose’.

 

Mail Delivery in RViz

Humble also allows for ‘Patrol Loop’ navigation. This example creates a system with an infinite patrol loop with auto-charging. Through this navigation capability, the robot will drive through poses repeatedly until its battery is low on charge. At that point, the robot will proceed to the charging station to recharge. Once the robot has gained sufficient charge, it will resume its patrol loop, ensuring uninterrupted operation. 

The rising significance of robotic systems in warehouse and logistics operations has led to an increased need for effective testing methods. Simulated warehouse worlds now provide researchers with safe and cost-effective means to evaluate their robotic material handling systems. In this regard, Humble allows for a default warehouse world compatible with TurtleBot 4. This development enables researchers to test and assess robot algorithms, control strategies, and behaviors within controlled and repeatable environments.

With these new features, we are excited to see how developers will utilize TurtleBot 4 to explore and enhance their robotics applications.

Click here to access the TurtleBot 4 user manual, tutorials and resources. 

If you would like to learn more about TurtleBot 4 and its features, you can visit our website here.