Differences between Create2 and Create3

[fmorshed52]

How are you connecting to your Create 3?

Bluetooth (Python Playground)

Computer(s) Model(s) and Operating System(s)

Windows XP

Which version of ROS 2 is installed on your computer?

None

Which firmware version is installed on your robot?

Irrelevant to my question

Which RMW is your robot running?

I don't know

Does your robot have an assigned namespace? If so, please share.

No response

Is the robot connected to a network? If so, what is the network type?

Bluetooth

Are there multiple Create 3 robots connected to your network?

None

Is multicast enabled?

None

What is the Adapter Board's USB/BLE Toggle currently switched to?

None

Describe your question.

I am looking for an article that describes the differences between Create2 and Create3 robot. I have a Create2 robot, playing around, and considering adding a camera to do line tracking. So, I am wondering whether I should now buy a Create3.

[slowrunner]

@fmorshed52 (You just missed opportunity to buy a Create3 from iRobot. I got a used Create3 off eBay this month. If you put a "watch" there eBay will notify you when one is available.)

Most important difference in brief: Create3 runs ROS 2 native on it's processor (which is a benefit and can also be a serious curse.)

I suggest sticking with your Create2, even if you want to learn ROS 2 programming.

If you really, really want to build a TurtleBot4 Lite then getting a used Create3, slapping a Pi4, LIDAR, and Oak-D-Lite (and a 5v power supply) on it will get you instant ROS code base and a robot just like others' so you are not a unicorn.

There are lots of non-ROS line follower examples for Raspberry Pi with a basic PiCamera. Some use just numpy, some use OpenCV. You don't need the new AI enhanced PiCamera. You definitely don't need ROS for a line follower.

[fmorshed52]

@slowrunner,

Oops, I have been programming the create3 not create 2 after all? I had not touched it for a year, so for some reason I thought it was create2!

Thank you for the response and the advice. My goal is to have a line-follower that is programmable. So I can program in case some customization is needed for my application. I am a programmer. Because I have already read the ROS2 tutorial and programmed the create3 to do basic maneuvers, my thinking is to leverage that understanding, instead of starting on something new. To do the line-following I looked into using the create3 IR sensors, but theoretically they can't do the job. That's why I started to investigate cameras for line-following.

Yes, there are so many line-following offering when I search. Makes it hard to know which is better? Any suggestions? Seems like turtleBot4 Lite, as you suggested is the way to go. I already have a create3, so I just need to buy the rest from the clearpath folks.

Thank you.

[slowrunner]

ROS 2 is a universe to explore. https://github.com/gabrielnhn/ros2-line-follower for example and there are lots, including hour long The Construct YouTube Tutorial on line following.

Choosing a camera gets into opinion and what you want to do and learn. A few years back, I wanted to learn OpenCV - line recognition, lane following, object and people recognition, the whole bit. At the time my robot Carl had a Raspberry Pi 3 and a PiCamera, so I signed up for the lowest level of pyimagesearch.com and had lots of fun learning about the nitty gritty of using OpenCV in Python.

Here is one of those:
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/496621217

That course gave me a good background to understand the more sophisticated Oak-D-Lite camera which has a "neural net" processor inside it to run the OpenCV code examples the camera maker Luxonis provides, but actually complicates things because it is a whole nother computer to program in addition to the Raspberry Pi driving the robot. The examples for the Oak-D-Lite camera include the YOLOv4 neural net object recognizer so you could "easily" make your create3 follow you with the Oak-D-Lite camera using the turtlebot4 example. Yeah - easy - buy a $300 camera, add a $10 power supply and a USB-C splitter ...

That is what I am adding / working on right today: turtlebot/turtlebot4#517 (reply in thread)

There is a lot to explore with a $15 camera and there is a lot to explore with building a "Turtlebot4" and starting with their (basically) working code that claims to have your robot "navigating in the first 15 minutes". That is the path I'm taking with some caveats - I like the RPLIDAR C1 better than the turtlebot4 stock A1M8 LIDAR, (and it was $65 instead of $90), but that makes my TB5-WaLI sort-of-a-turtlebot4lite, but I'm a retired software engineer with no deadlines anymore and knowledge that using someone else's "perfect code" means I will be the first to find all the edge cases of the design.

My Blog for current incarnation of a TurtleBot4 is here

[slowrunner]

And btw - on the stock Turtlebot4 the camera is only programmed as a very expensive webcam - so you could ease your way into building a Turtlebot with just the RPLidar A1M8 LIDAR, and run all the mapping and navigation examples and leave the camera for future enhancement. If you want to be "pure" and run the Turtlebot4 Raspberry Pi 4 image, buy a Pi 4 and the A1M8 lidar, and you will be mapping and navigating (without lines on the floor).