Autonomous Patrol Robot using ROS2, Gazebo and RViz

Overview

This project implements an Autonomous Patrol Robot using ROS2. The robot navigates through predefined waypoints in a simulated environment using Gazebo and visualizes its movement in RViz.

The system demonstrates waypoint-based navigation, autonomous movement logic, and logging of visited coordinates.

This project was developed as part of robotics training to understand practical ROS2 navigation workflows.

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Features

• Autonomous waypoint-based patrol
• Real-time robot simulation in Gazebo
• Visualization using RViz
• Coordinate logging of visited waypoints
• Structured ROS2 node implementation
• Launch file integration

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Technologies Used

• ROS2
• Gazebo
• RViz
• Python (rclpy)
• Linux environment

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System Architecture

1. Robot Model

   • Simulated mobile robot in Gazebo environment

2. Navigation Logic

   • Predefined waypoint coordinates
   • Robot sequentially navigates to each point
   • Continuous patrol loop

3. Logging

   • Coordinates of visited waypoints stored in log file
   • Timestamped movement tracking

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Waypoint Logic

Example visited coordinates:

(1.5, 0.0) (1.5, 1.5) (0.0, 1.5) (0.0, 0.0)

The robot moves sequentially through each coordinate and repeats the cycle continuously.

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How to Run

1. Build the workspace:

colcon build

2. Source the workspace:

source install/setup.bash

3. Launch the patrol system:

ros2 launch patrol_launch.py

4. Open RViz (if not auto-launched):

rviz2

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Output

• Robot moves autonomously in Gazebo
• RViz shows robot state and movement
• Terminal logs visited coordinates
• Patrol loop continues indefinitely

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Demo

The repository includes:

• Demo video of Gazebo simulation
• RViz visualization screenshots
• Sample patrol log file

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Learning Outcomes

• Understanding ROS2 node structure
• Working with launch files
• Integrating Gazebo simulation
• Visualizing robot movement in RViz
• Implementing waypoint navigation logic
• Logging and debugging ROS2 systems

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Future Improvements

• Implement SLAM-based navigation
• Add obstacle avoidance using sensors
• Integrate Nav2 stack
• Add real robot hardware implementation
• Multi-robot patrol system

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Raghav Sathe
ENTC Engineering Undergraduate
Robotics | Embedded Systems | ROS2

This project demonstrates foundational understanding of ROS2 autonomous navigation and simulation workflows.