Setting up and Using ROS-Kinetic and Gazebo for Educational Robotic Projects and Learning

This paper is to introduce readers to the Robot Operating System (ROS) and Gazebo, a robot simulator, for educational use. The paper covers setting up a proper environment for ROS Kinetic and the steps needed to properly install ROS into the setup environment. It includes an explanation of ROS and its inner workings, notably nodes and packages. This includes, but is not limited to, information on messages, topics, subscribers, and publishers. After a foundation of ROS understanding is established, Gazebo is introduced for the reader to test nodes without need of a physical robot. The Gazebo sections include an understanding of Gazebo, using a model, building a map/environment, running nodes, and sensors. Furthermore, this paper introduces the current project along with our team's current progress. The use of teleop and lidar within a project. Lastly, the paper covers future works and direction of the current project.