Learning Robotics using Python - Second Edition

Cliff sensor plugin

The cliff sensor is a set of IR sensors that detect cliffs, which helps to avoid steps and prevents the robot from falling. This is one of the sensors in the mobile base of Turtlebot 2, called Kobuki (http://kobuki.yujinrobot.com/). We're using this plugin in the Turtlebot 2 simulation.

We can set the parameters of the sensors, such as the minimum and maximum angle of the IR beams, the resolution, and the number of samples per second. We can also limit the detection range of the sensor. There are three cliff sensors in our simulation model, as shown in the following code:

 <gazebo reference="cliff_sensor_front_link"> <sensor type="ray" name="cliff_sensor_front"> <always_on>true</always_on> <update_rate>50</update_rate> ...