ROS2 Design Concepts


In this module we will cover the introduction to ROS, it's history, difference between ROS1 and ROS2, what is DDS, ROS2 design concepts, etc.

1. History of ROS

  • Early Beginnings
    • Origin of ROS (Robot Operating System)
    • The initial purpose and goals of ROS
    • Key milestones in ROS development
  • Evolution to ROS2
    • The need for ROS2: Limitations of ROS1
    • Introduction to ROS2 development
    • Community involvement and contributions

2. Differences between ROS1 and ROS2

  • Architecture
    • Comparison of the underlying architecture
    • Middleware: ROS1's custom middleware vs. ROS2's DDS
  • Communication
    • Differences in communication paradigms
    • Improvements in inter-process and inter-node communication
  • Performance and Reliability
    • Enhanced real-time capabilities
    • Quality of Service (QoS) policies in ROS2
  • Security
    • Security enhancements in ROS2
    • Secure communication features
  • Compatibility and Portability
    • Cross-platform support (Windows, Linux, macOS)
    • Mobile and embedded system compatibility
  • Development and Deployment
    • Differences in development tools and processes
    • Improvements in deployment and lifecycle management

3. Data Distribution Service (DDS)

  • What is DDS?
    • Introduction to DDS
    • Key features and capabilities of DDS
  • Role of DDS in ROS2
    • How DDS integrates with ROS2
    • Benefits of using DDS in ROS2
    • Examples of DDS implementations used in ROS2 (e.g., FastDDS, CycloneDDS)
  • DDS Concepts
    • Overview of DDS concepts: Topics, Data Writers, Data Readers, QoS policies
    • Real-time data distribution and communication
    • Scalability and flexibility in distributed systems

4. ROS2 Design Concepts

  • Nodes and Components
    • Definition and role of nodes in ROS2
    • Composition and lifecycle of nodes
    • Nodelets and intra-process communication
  • Topics, Services, and Actions
    • Communication mechanisms: Topics, Services, Actions
    • Use cases and examples of each mechanism
    • QoS policies and their impact on communication
  • Parameter Server
    • Role and usage of the parameter server
    • Dynamic reconfiguration of parameters
  • Launch System
    • Overview of the launch system in ROS2
    • Launch files and their syntax
    • Examples of launching ROS2 nodes and systems
  • Lifecycle Management
    • Node lifecycle states and transitions
    • Managed nodes and their benefits
  • Component-Based Architecture
    • Introduction to component-based design
    • Benefits of using components for modular development
    • Examples of component-based architectures in ROS2
  • Interoperability and Integration
    • Integration with other systems and frameworks
    • Interoperability with ROS1 (ROS1-ROS2 bridge)