This page is a grabbag of links that are very relevant but not necessarily covered in the lectures or notes. We will be adding to it from time to time.

Course Materials

• Pre-work and Expectations - Important pre-work that is absolutely expected before day one of class
• Course Materials - Resources that we will be using
• Grading - Notes about grading for this course
• Lab Rules - Rules for using the lab
• Programming Robots with ROS - Our textbook, available free of charge from the Brandeis library

ROS and Gazebo Resources

• ROS Cheat Sheet - list of ROS commands, utilities, and other things to remember
• A really good podcast to motivate why we use ROS. ~20 mins
• Publishers and Subscribers
• Defining Custom Messages
• Creating a ROS msg and srv
• A handy ROS Cheat Sheet
• Gazebo mouse shortcuts
• Launching more than one robot in Gazebo

Python, Unix, and Git Resources

• Arjun Albert’s Guide To Python For Ros Developers
• Unix Shell - My super summary of important things to know about the “shell”
• Git and GitHub - Git primer and 5 most important commands
• LEARN YOUR TOOLS! Free excellent python content: Brandeis Lynda LinkedIn Learning
• To practice shell commands, here’s a web based pretend shell that has all the features.
• Handy summary of Python list comprehension patterns

General Topic Resources

• Selection of key papers - List of some of the most relevant papers I’ve found.
• Threads and Processes - Very brief notes about threads and processes**
• Path Planning - Great link for understanding path planning algorithms and visualizing their behavior.
• Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization
• Learning Particle Filters: Particle Filters Explained Without Math
• Learning Kalman Filters: The Extended Kalman Filter, an interactive tutorial
• Learning Quaternions: Quaternions Online
• The SLAM toolbox: SLAM Toolbox
• How a Kalman Filter Works in Pictures.
• Kalman Filter For Dummies
• Kalman Filter: Predict, Measure, Update, Repeat
• iRobot brings visual mapping and navigation to the Roomba