Turtlesim Controller

A virtual controller for the ROS turtlesim_node using NippleJS and Rosbridge.

It allows you to control the ROS turtlesim_node from a simple webpapp using Rosbridge.

• Move the turtle with the right joystick or clicking the buttons.
• Change its orientation using the left joystick.

You can execute the controller using tmuxinator or roslaunch, like a regular ROS node/pkg.

This repo also contains some .py files inside the scripts folder, some extra code included to better know ROS functionalities using turtlesim_node.

Dependencies

• ROS Noetic: provides the main code to develop robot applications.
• Rosbridge: provides a JSON API to ROS functionality for non-ROS programs.
• NippleJS: provides a virtual joystick for touch capable interfaces.

Setup

1. Source ROS workspace

source /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash

2. Create and set up the ROS project workspace

mkdir turtlesim-controller-ws
cd turtlesim-controller-ws
mkdir src
catkin_make

This may have created new folders, build and devel, and a CMakeLists.txt file inside src.

3. Clone the repo inside src folder

cd src
git clone https://github.com/beallasai/turtlesim-controller.git

Usage

There are two different ways to run the controller:

• roslaunch

1. Go back to the project folder (turtlesim-controller-ws)

cd ..

2. Source ROS workspace

source devel/setup.bash

3. Execute the run.launch file

roslaunch turtlesim-controller run.launch

This will run everything in the same terminal and open the webapp in browser

Close it with ctrl+c

• tmuxinator

1. Go to the folder with the .tmuxinator.yml file

cd turtlesim-controller/tmux/run/

2. Execute the file

tmuxinator

This will open a tmux session with 3 panes:

• Starts Rosbridge Server
• Starts turtlesim_node
• Opens the webapp in browser

Move between panes using ctrl+b ↑, ↓, ←, →

Close the session with tquit

Now you can control the turtle using joysticks or buttons!!!

Phone controller

You can also control the turtle with your phone:

1. Make sure your PC and phone are connected to the same WiFi

2. Change the line 4 in the ros.js file with your PC IP

3. Run the webpage executing the phoneRun.launch file:

• Go to the project folder (turtlesim-controller-ws)

• Source ROS workspace

source devel/setup.bash

• Execute the phoneRun.launch file

roslaunch turtlesim-controller phoneRun.launch

4. Open the IP:8000 in your phone browser

Now you can move the turtle using your phone as a controller!!!