Course overview

This course covers the fundamental concepts of ROS 2, focusing on hands-on practice to equip you with essential skills for programming robots.

What You Will Learn

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Creation of ROS 2 packages

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Management of the new Colcon universal building system

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Topic Publishers and subscribers in ROS 2 Python

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New Launch system based on Python

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Callbacks in ROS 2

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Multithreading

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Use of Debbuging tools in ROS 2

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100% Online

No ROS setup is required. Everything is online.

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Intermediate Level

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Approx. 20 hours to complete

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Prerequisites

Simulated Robots Used

Mars Rover

Syllabus

Unit 1: Introduction to the ROS 2 Basics Python Course

This unit introduces the “ROS 2 Basics in 5 Days” course, where you’ll get a brief overview of the content and see a practical demo.

Unit 2: ROS 2 Basic Concepts

In this unit, you’ll learn:

How to structure and launch ROS 2 programs (packages and launch files)
How to create basic ROS 2 programs (Python-based)
Basic ROS 2 concepts: nodes, client libraries, etc.

Unit 3: Understanding ROS 2 Topics

In this unit, you’ll learn the basics of working with topics—the core messages in ROS 2 for connecting processes, accessing sensor data, and controlling actuators, including:

Basic Topic Commands
Defining a Topic
Topic Subscribers and Publishers
Mixing Publishers and Subscribers
Custom Interfaces

Unit 4: Understanding ROS 2 Services

In this unit, you’ll learn the basics of working with Services—a method of communication between nodes in ROS 2, including:

Service Server
Service Client
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Service Clients in ROS 2
Basic Service Commands Cheatsheet
Custom Interfaces
Using Custom Interfaces

Unit 5: Callbacks

In this unit, you’ll learn about callbacks—a function executed in response to events, such as receiving a message on a subscribed topic or when a service is called, including:

Objective
Setting Up CMake for ROS 2 Packages
The Importance of Callbacks
Spin Once

Unit 6: Multithreading

In this unit, you’ll learn about multithreading—the ability to run multiple threads concurrently within a single process, enabling efficient handling of tasks such as data processing, communication, and callback execution.

Unit 7: Understanding ROS 2 Actions

In this unit, you’ll learn about actions in ROS 2—a communication mechanism that enables nodes to perform long-running tasks with feedback and cancellation options, allowing for asynchronous execution and interaction in robotic applications.

Topics covered:

Calling an Action Server
Providing Feedback from Actions
How to Call an Action Server
Action Client Code Explanation
Writing an Action Server
Creating an Action Interface
Developing a Custom Action Client

Unit 8: ROS 2 Debugging Tools

In this unit, we’ll explore ROS 2 debugging tools to help diagnose and troubleshoot issues in your ROS 2 system.

Topics covered:

ROS 2 Debugging Messages
Visualizing Complex Data with RViz2
Using tf2_tools to View Frames
ROS 2 Doctor:
Check Your Entire Setup
Diagnose a Specific System
Generate a Full Report with ROS 2 Doctor

What our students think

“I have had a great experience with The Construct. I believe much of what I have learned thus far regarding ROS has been from these courses and the concepts behind the implementation of ROS have been helpful even outside of ROS applications.“

Sam Daly

“I’m very happy about working with The Constructsim, it is affordable, it is very comfortable for me, and the tools in the GUI are very useful“

Bladimir Bacca Cortes

“I really liked the learning approach based on projects and practical examples and I found the final project with an actual robot to be very useful and challenging.“

Guillermo Robledo