ROS2 Fundamentals

Whether you've always wanted to build robots or you're transitioning into robotics software development, this course is where your journey begins. No prior ROS experience needed — just curiosity and a willingness to build.

This course is built with a "learn-by-doing" approach. You won't just learn theory; you'll get your hands dirty with practical tools and projects. We'll start with the absolute basics—what is a ROS 2 node, package, and workspace?—and quickly move into the core communication patterns that power all robotic systems.

You will master the "big three" of ROS 2 communication:

1. Topics (Publish/Subscribe): For continuous streams of data, like sensor readings.

2. Services (Client/Server): For request/response interactions, like "move to this position."

3. Parameters: For configuring your nodes from the outside.

We'll use Turtlesim and RQT tools to visualize these concepts, giving you a clear, graphical understanding of what's happening under the hood.

The real power of this course is learning to build applications in both C++ and Python. You will:

• Review essential Object-Oriented C++ concepts (classes, inheritance, binding) specifically for ROS 2.

• Build a complete "Chatter" publisher/subscriber application from scratch in C++.

• Re-build the exact same application in Python to compare workflows and understand the strengths of each language.

You'll finish by building a complete obstacle avoidance system from scratch and deploying it on a TurtleBot3 in Gazebo simulation. Your robot will sense its environment, make decisions, and navigate autonomously

• Grasp the fundamental concepts of ROS 2: Nodes, Packages, and Workspaces.

• Master the core ROS 2 communication models: Topics (Publish/Subscribe), Services (Client/Server), and Parameters.

• Get hands-on practice with essential ROS 2 tools like the CLI, RQT (rqt_graph, rqt_publisher), and the Turtlesim simulator.

• Understand and implement object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts (classes, inheritance, bind functions) for C++ node development.

• Build a complete "chatter" (pub/sub) application from scratch in C++.

• Build the same "chatter" application in Python to understand the differences and advantages.

• Learn to create and use powerful ROS 2 Launch files (using Python) to manage and run your complex, multi-node applications.