ROS Chassis Development Starter: Interfaces and Workflow of a 3D Lidar Navigation Chassis
Tbot chassis exposes an open ROS interface. This tutorial is for developers doing chassis development for the first time, covering the full workflow from wiring and power-up to real-robot navigation.
1. Before you start
- Power-up & safety: check the emergency stop; do not power up until it is released
- Drivers & dependencies: install chassis driver packages and ROS dependencies; confirm the lidar driver publishes 3D point clouds
- Environment: recommend validating the workflow in simulation first, then on the real robot
2. Mapping
The 3D multi-line lidar outputs point clouds. Pre-process (denoise, ground segmentation), then fuse inertial data for mapping. Note that low obstacles (pallets, cables) and overhead obstacles (ducts, racks) both enter the map; keep a steady speed and avoid sharp turns while mapping.
3. Localization & navigation
- Localization: point-cloud registration + inertial fusion, secondary localization ±10mm
- Navigation: global path planning + local avoidance, costmap updates supported
- Narrow aisles: minimum 56cm; leave safety margin when tuning local planner parameters
4. Avoidance & safety
3D point-cloud avoidance is not just the front plane: low objects, overhead objects and cliff edges are all in the cloud. Recommend region-based filtering (ground zone / body-height zone / overhead zone) with separate avoidance strategies; keep the emergency-stop circuit hardware-independent, not software-judged.
5. From simulation to real robot
Validate logic in simulation; on the real robot, run empty at low speed first, then with load. The benefit of an open ROS interface: your upper-level logic (task scheduling, multi-robot, vision) is fully reusable — change chassis models without changing the code framework.
Need SDK docs and sample code?
Visit the Developer SDK page, or contact sales@tobotai.com for technical support.