thiemok / ros_rccar

An RC Car based on ROS indigo and the Raspberry Pi.

ros_rccar

An RC Car based on ROS indigo and the Raspberry Pi.

###Requirements

• bcm2835 library , available at http://www.airspayce.com/mikem/bcm2835/
• The Raspberry Pi Servo board v3 for motor control, which is available here http://electronics.chroma.se/
• Adafruit's TLC59711 for lighting

Currently driving is possible via ros geometry_msgs/Twist to rc_car/cmd_vel or via joystick using joystick_control_node. Using the rc_car_lights_node requires sudo. The launch files are prepared for this, but you need to configure your environment to keep required environment variables when using sudo

Control via rc_car/cmd_vel

Use linear.x for throttle (to drive in reverse use negative values), linear.y is used for braking and angular.z for steering.

Control via joystick_control_node

Configure the node for your joystick via the launch file.
The node uses two trigger axes for throttle and brake, one axis for steering and a button to switch between gears and another button to switch between foward and backward driving directions.
Gear switching is done between HI and LOW gears, with configurable ratios. The gears are simply a modifier applied to the throttle value for finer control.

To configure the nodes use the included launch files.

The Readme will be extended as the project progresses.