ryanmcintosh5's profile - activity

I recently developed a 50lb tracked robot (skid steer) that requires 100% human teleoperation via RC. I want to take the next steps and give the vehicle some autonomy which may include: controlling an attached robotic arm or similar payload; gps navigation and waypoints; route plotting; 2d/3d environment mapping; obstacle avoidance; vision/decision making via Kinect sensor, etc. Im new to programming and microcontrollers and thought about starting with the Arduino or 3D Robotics Pixhawk controller and their respective programming environments but read alot about how much more advanced ROS is and want to learn ROS programming. Also I eventually want to commercialize these robotic systems. Is commercialization possible with ROS onboard? Where would you suggest I start? I know I need to learn C/C++ programming and Linux/Ubuntu. Is there a way I can learn these leaned towards robotics? or will I have to start at programming 101? Can someone give me advice on the order of what I should be focused on learning these functions? Are there any books for beginners that will get me to equipping my bot with ROS as soon as possible. Im eager to start now