A Journey Through ROS 2 and RViz2

This repository documents my learning journey with ROS 2, RViz2, robot modeling, simulation, and motion planning using the Elephant Robotics myCobot 280 robotic arm.

About

My interest in robotics grew after learning how concepts from Engineering Dynamics are applied in robotic manipulators. This repository captures my exploration of ROS 2 during my semester break, focusing on robot visualization, simulation, and motion planning.

Topics Explored

• ROS 2 Fundamentals

• Nodes, Topics, Services, and Actions

• URDF and Xacro

• Robot State Publisher

• Joint State Publisher

• TF and TF Trees

• RViz2 Visualization

• Gazebo Simulation

• MoveIt 2 Motion Planning

• Pick and Place Tasks

• ROS 2 Package Development

Repository Structure

mycobot\_description          Robot model, URDF, Xacro and meshes

mycobot\_bringup              Launch and bringup files

mycobot\_interfaces           Custom ROS 2 interfaces

mycobot\_gazebo               Gazebo simulation environment

mycobot\_moveit\_config        MoveIt configuration

mycobot\_moveit\_demos         Motion planning demos

mycobot\_mtc\_demos            MoveIt Task Constructor demos

mycobot\_mtc\_pick\_place\_demo  Pick and place demonstrations

mycobot\_system\_tests         System validation tests

mycobot\_ros2                 ROS 2 integration packages

Software Stack

• Ubuntu 24.04

• ROS 2 Jazzy Jalisco

• RViz2

• Gazebo Harmonic

• MoveIt 2

Learning Outcomes

• Robot modeling using URDF and Xacro

• ROS 2 communication architecture

• TF frame transformations

• Robot visualization in RViz2

• Simulation workflows in Gazebo

• Motion planning using MoveIt 2

• Workspace management and debugging in ROS 2