// the find
henki-robotics/robotics_essentials_ros2
Learn the basics of robotics through hands-on experience using ROS 2 and Gazebo simulation.
A structured university course for learning ROS 2 and Gazebo simulation, built around the Andino differential-drive robot. It runs entirely in Docker, so there's no local ROS install required. Aimed at master's-level students with no prior ROS or Docker experience who want to get from zero to autonomous navigation in a few weeks.
Docker-first setup is the right call for a course — eliminates the 'it works on my machine' problem that kills ROS workshops. The exercise progression is logical: tools first, then concepts, then implementation (odometry, path planning), so students build mental models before writing code. Lecture slides are included alongside exercises, which makes this self-contained enough to run without an instructor. The custom Nav2 planner plugin in C++ is a genuinely useful capstone — most ROS tutorials stop at parameter tweaking.
The C++ label is misleading — all student exercises are Python; the C++ is only in the Nav2 planner plugin, which students modify but don't write from scratch. No automated tests or CI means there's no signal when a Docker image or package version breaks the course (and ROS dependency hell is notorious for silent breakage). The course tops out at Nav2 parameter tuning and a straight-line planner; anyone wanting to go further — sensor fusion, MoveIt, real hardware — gets nothing. Last push was November 2025 and the repo still targets ROS 2 Humble, which hit EOL in May 2025.