[ros-users] Player or ROS?

[Gonçalo Cabrita]

Hi Anterma!

I've had the same questions you're having. I've been working with Player 2
and then Player 3 for over a year and a few weeks ago we decided to give ROS
a try here at the lab. From what I've seen so far I would say that Player
and ROS take a different approach at the same problem. ROS is no doubt more
powerful but at the expense of extra complexity, however I think that over
time the added features will pay off the extra work.

I agree with what Geoff said concerning Player drivers vs ROS nodes. However
I have something to add. When deciding which software to use you should
first take a look at the drivers/nodes other people have already created.
You can take advantage of what's already done to jump right away at
developing your own higher level algorithms, that's the whole point of open
source software. Given the hardware you have at your disposal, choose the
software depending on the range of readily available drivers/nodes that will
be useful to you.

I hope this helps,

Gonçalo Cabrita
ISR - University of Coimbra
Portugal


On Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 9:03 AM, Geoffrey Biggs
<geoffrey.biggs at aist.go.jp>wrote:

> Have a look at this page for one answer to your question:
>
> http://www.ros.org/wiki/ROS/Introduction#Goals
>
> In general, I think that developing a ROS node is easier initially, but
> that you need to put more thought into your design to avoid long-term
> complications. A Player driver, on the other hand, is less likely to
> suffer from initial design choices, but may be limited by Player's
> capabilities in the long term.
>
> There is a tutorial on the ROS wiki about how to write nodes, and you
> can copy the example driver in Player for writing a Player driver.
>
> In your situation, I would write a small library that interfaces to your
> driver and provides a nice API for interacting with your robot directly:
> setting motor speeds, getting the latest IR readings, and so on. Then
> write a Player driver that uses the library to provide access to your
> robot via Player. If, in the future, you find that Player is not meeting
> your needs, it's then fairly easy to write a ROS node that wraps your
> library in the same way as the Player driver.
>
> Geoff
>
>
> On 10/06/10 16:52, Anaré wrote:
> > Hello!
> >
> > I'm Anterma. I'm new in this mailing list.
> > I've a small robot with sensors (for example, IR) and motors.
> > I want to work with my robot using a robot operating system, like Player
> > or ROS. I don't know which one choose.
> > I used to work with Player 2.0.5. I changed erratic driver and made it to
> > work with my own protocol.
> > Now I want to develop my own Player driver or ROS driver.
> > Can you help me?
> > What do you think?
> > Is easier to develop a Player driver or a ROS driver?
> > Do you know if there are some documentation about how to develop a Player
> > driver?
> > Do you know if there are some documentation about how to develop a ROS
> > driver?
> > If you where in my situation, which oen do you choose?
> >
> > Thank you,
> >
> > Anterma
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