Miniature Driverless Car

This repository integrates the Azure Kinect camera with ROS 2 using the Azure_Kinect_ROS_Driver and connects it with two control packages:

• Azure_Kinect_ROS_Driver → Starts the Azure Kinect camera node in ROS 2
• laptop → Interfaces with an Xbox controller
• mdc_car → Runs and controls the vehicle

Together, these packages allow sensor input from the Kinect and user input from the controller to drive the car through ROS 2.

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📂 Repository Structure

• Azure_Kinect_ROS_Driver/ → ROS 2 driver for the Azure Kinect
• laptop/ → ROS 2 node for Xbox controller input
• mdc_car/ → ROS 2 node that controls the car
• src/ → Source code for laptop and mdc_car packages
• *.sh → Convenience scripts for building and running the system
  • initAzure.sh → Setup for Azure Kinect driver
  • initMDC.sh → Setup for car controller
  • launch.sh → Launches Azure Kinect
  • runcar.sh → Runs the full car control system
  • xbox.sh → Runs the car xbox controller
  • send-db.sh → Send rtabmap data to the car
  • deploy.sh → Send the git repo when connected via ssh. NOTE: move the db to a different location with move-db.sh
  • move-db.sh → Move the db with m or restore with r

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🚀 Getting Started

1. Clone the repository

git clone <repo-url>
cd <repo-name>

2. Build the workspace

Instead of running colcon build manually, use the provided scripts:

./initAzure.sh   # Build and setup Azure Kinect driver
./initMDC.sh     # Build and setup car controller

3. Run the system

Start the full pipeline:

./runcar.sh # In the car
./xbox.sh r k # On the laptop run keyboard (or c for laptop)
./launch.sh # In a separate terminal where the Kinect is connected

This will:

1. Launch the Azure Kinect driver
2. Start the Xbox controller node (laptop)
3. Run the car node (mdc_car)

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🛠 Development Notes

• The repository is configured for ROS 2 Humble.

• A devcontainer configuration is included for development.

  • This makes it easier to get started on a fresh machine, but it is not required at runtime.

• Scripts in the root directory are the main entry points for building and running.

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📌 Requirements

• ROS 2 Humble
• Azure Kinect SDK installed on host machine
• Xbox controller (wired or wireless via dongle)
• Configuration and Setup in the devcontainer

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