TurtleBot

A white robot consisting of multiple tiers of round plates and a larger round base.
The TurtleBot is an open source mobile robot. Photo: Willow Garage

TurtleBot is a low-cost personal robot designed for hobbyists and researchers. It's open source, runs the ROS operating system, and combines a netbook with a Kinect 3D sensor and a mobile base.

Creator

Willow Garage

(Originally developed at Willow Garage. TurtleBot 1 and 2 discontinued. TurtleBot 3 and 4 available through multiple distributors.)

Year
2011
Country
United States 🇺🇸
Categories
Features
Willow Garage introduces the TurtleBot. Video: Willow Garage

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Appearance

Neutral

Did you know?

A variety of open-source add-ons for TurtleBots are available, including webcams, laser sensors, and even arms.

A man and a woman in black shirts stand holding a multi-tiered circular white robot.
Turtlebot was developed by Tully Foote (left) and Melonee Wise (right), during their time at Willow Garage. Photo: Jimmy Sastra

History

TurtleBot was developed by Melonee Wise and Tully Foote at Willow Garage in 2010. Their goal was to create an affordable and open source personal robot platform that was easy to assemble and used off-the-shelf parts. The initial version had a mobile base, 2D/3D sensor, laptop, and mounting hardware. It was capable of driving around autonomously, creating 3D maps, and detecting objects and people. It ran the Robot Operating System (ROS), also under development at Willow Garage. To program the robot, users could download the TurtleBot SDK. TurtleBot proved to be a powerful entry-level mobile robotics platform with similar capabilities to larger platforms, like the PR2, making ROS and open source robotics more accessible for educators, students, and hobbyists.

Specs

Overview

Capable of building maps of its environment and navigating autonomously. Open platform with access to raw sensor data.

Status

Ongoing

Year

2011

Website
Width
33 cm
Height
40.6 cm
Length
33 cm
Weight
6.3 kg
Speed
1.8 km/h
Sensors

Microsoft Kinect, gyro, and iRobot Create built-in cliff and bump sensors.

Actuators

Two motors

Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
2
Materials

Aluminum and MDF (medium density fiberboard).

Compute

Asus Eee PC 1215N

Software

ROS (Robot Operating System)

Power

14.4-V nickel-metal hydride battery and laptop internal battery, 2 to 3 hours of operation

Cost
$1,500 (fully-assembled unit; non-assembled kit sells for $1,400)