Building a stationary robot. ROS the right tool for me?

Question

I'm wondering if ROS is the right system for me. I'm currently involved in a project which consists of building a device that has the purpose to take spectroscopic measurements using a laser and a spectrometer, controlling servos and reading outputs of many different sensors.

The project involves

Bring the laser to the right spot using a proximity sensor and a servo
Firing the laser and doing a measurement with the spectrometer
Continuously monitor various temperature, vibration, flow etc sensors
The devices are either ethernet connected or send out voltage/current signals. All devices can be communicated to using Python and libraries.

The software will run on a single Linux PC.

From what I gather then ROS should be great for this. F.x. by creating python scripts for each device, which connect to a "mother" script through the publisher/subscriber method.

But before I dive into coding this, it would be great to get someone's opinion on in ROS is the right system for this?

Cross-Post at answers.ros.org

MichaelDuth · Answer

ROS is very complex tool. From your description it sound that ROS is a good choice but keep in mind that a ROS project involves a lot of things that can make your project work properly, but it is difficult to learn. Fortunately there is a big community and many good tutorials.

Answered by MichaelDuth on January 4, 2022

JSycamore · Answer

If all you want from ROS is the publish/subscribe architecture, then I would caution that using ROS probably has non-negligible overhead, especially if you are unfamiliar with it. In particular, the build environment is definitely geared towards C++, and if you are already planning on using Python, I would suggest looking for alternatives -- paho-MQTT might be more inline with your needs.

Answered by JSycamore on January 4, 2022

Muthanna A. Alwahash · Answer

Check already ROS supported sensors; you might find code for some of your sensors already existing. Check this link http://wiki.ros.org/Sensors

FooTheBar · Answer

ROS sounds like a good way to go. You will most likely only use the core tools (topic, actions, launch files, bag files, RVIZ) but they will definitely simplify your development as you can divide your application in smaller parts with clearly defined interfaces.

Answered by FooTheBar on January 4, 2022

Building a stationary robot. ROS the right tool for me?

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