turtlebot2 schematics and firmware

[Ashwin Vijayakumar]

Can someone please point me to turtlebot2 complete schematics (microcontroller, gyro etc) and firmware source code?

[Tully Foote]

Hi Ashwin,

The TurtleBot2 hardware description is available here: http://turtlebot.com/build.html

The microcontroller, gyro etc, are part of the off the shelf Kobuki Robot available from Yujin Robot which we use as the base. http://kobuki.yujinrobot.com/home-en/ We do not have the schematics or firmware source code for the Kobuki.

Tully

On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 9:53 AM, Ashwin Vijayakumar <ashwinvi...@gmail.com> wrote:

Can someone please point me to turtlebot2 complete schematics (microcontroller, gyro etc) and firmware source code?

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[Ashwin Vijayakumar]

Hi Tully,

Thanks for getting back! I am more interested in the hardware that makes TB tick. ROS is exceptionally flexible and feature rich when it comes to software but I truly believe it's reference hardware (turtlebot) can benefit from a few upgrades that gives a little bit more flexibility of customizing the hardware. While the trossenrobotics arm, BiliBot and POLYRO are excellent HW mods, they still need additional microcontroller HW to control these extra sensors/actuators. Wouldn't it be nice if the base's microcontroller itself could be configured/programmed to control additional HW parts? 

Besides, I think the statement in https://www.willowgarage.com/blog/2011/05/20/turtlebot-going-open-source is a little misleading when it says "TurtleBot hardware is going open source". We should really have access to the entire schematics, not just the serial interface.

Regards,

Ashwin

[Michael Ferguson]

The announcement you mention is the Turtlebot, not the Turtlebot 2. The "hardware" referenced is basically the standoffs and plates, which when combined with certain (non-open source) off-the-shelf components, form a reference design for which you have ROS drivers, URDF, and demo applications. Even with the original Turtlebot, the iRobot Create used as a base for that robot has never been open source. Neither is the firmware/mechanics of the Dynamixel servos used in the trossen arm, nor is the Kinect which is used as a sensor. The laptop used is also not open source hardware. These are pretty much the fact of life. You can certainly build your own robot base, but it will undoubtedly cost you far more than the Kobuki base from Yujin (or the iRobot Create).

-Fergs

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ros-sig-turtlebot/d157b6e9-5a88-4ccf-a4f4-0651015bb27f%40googlegroups.com.

[Ashwin Vijayakumar]

Michael,

I realize that the Dynamixel, Kinect and laptop are not open source hardware, all I am saying is that the information on this site lead me to believe that all hardware is "Open Source". It specifically mentions "board layout & schematics", what are you referring to when you say "board layout and schematics"?

"we will make available part numbers, CAD drawings for laser-cut hardware, board layouts and schematics, and all the necessary documentation" 

[Ryan Gariepy]

At the point when that particular news release what written, there was an auxiliary power/sensor board. That board was open sourced, and the community did build on that. When the Kobuki base was developed, Yujin incorporated and improved that functionality, rendering that particular board unnecessary.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ros-sig-turtlebot/8bf9b188-1bd9-490a-bace-e49cd037cdb1%40googlegroups.com.

[Daniel Stonier]

I would have loved to make kobuki hardware and firmware fully open-sourced, but at the end of the day, we are spinning the base off a cleaning robot product. Part of what makes it possible to deliver kobuki relatively easily (and affordably) is the fact that it has been spun off a closed product. There are some parts that we absolutely can't open up, and others that we could, but would require considerable development to isolate and exclude what we can't open. This would add extra cost. 

Daniel.

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[Ashwin Vijayakumar]

Hi Daniel and Ryan,
Thanks for the detailed explanations!

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