🐢 Turtlesim Catch Them All (ROS2)

A ROS2 project where a main turtle chases and catches randomly spawned turtles in the Turtlesim simulator.
Implemented in both Python and C++ to demonstrate cross-language ROS2 development.

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📖 Overview

This project is inspired by the ROS2 for Beginners course by Edouard Renard.
The goal is to:

• Spawn turtles one by one in the Turtlesim environment.
• Control the main turtle to catch the nearest one.
• Remove turtles once they are caught.

The project demonstrates:

• ROS2 topics, services, and custom messages.
• Writing ROS2 nodes in Python and C++.
• Organizing a multi-package ROS2 workspace.

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📂 Repository Structure

turtlesim_catch_them_all/
|
│── my_robot_bringup/         # Launch & config files      # Shared bringup
│── my_robot_interfaces/      # Custom messages & services # Shared interfaces
|
|── python_version/
│   └── turtlesim_catch_them_all/ # Python nodes (controller, spawner)
│
├── cpp_version/
│  └── turtlesim_project_cpp/    # C++ nodes (controller, spawner)
│
├── README.md
└── LICENSE

🚀 Features

• Custom ROS2 messages (Turtle.msg, TurtleArray.msg)
• Custom ROS2 service (CatchTurtle.srv)
• Spawner node: publishes new turtles at random positions
• Controller node: moves the main turtle to catch the nearest one
• Cross-language implementation: Python and C++ versions

⚙️ Installation

Clone the repo into your ROS2 workspace:

cd ~/ros2_ws/src
git clone https://github.com/mohammad-alghazawi/turtlesim_catch_them_all.git
cd ..
colcon build
source install/setup.bash

▶️ Run Instructions

Python & C++ :

ros2 launch my_robot_bringup turtlesim_catch_them_all.launch.xml

📊 Comparison: Python vs C++

Feature	Python Implementation	C++ Implementation
Ease of writing	✅ Faster prototyping	⚡ High performance
Code readability	🟢 Very clear	🟡 More verbose
Execution speed	🟡 Slower	🟢 Faster
ROS2 ecosystem support	✅ Widely used	✅ Widely used

📸 Demo

Python & C++ implementations of the turtle-catching game in ROS2

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📚 Learning Outcomes

• Practiced ROS2 node development in both Python and C++.

• Learned to define and use custom messages and services.

• Gained experience in multi-package workspace organization.

• Showcased ability to translate logic across languages.

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

🙌 Acknowledgments

• Inspired by the ROS2 for Beginners course by Edouard Renard.

• Built with ROS2 and Turtlesim.

🙋‍♂️ Author

Mohammad Alghazawi — Mechatronics engineer (MSc) passionate about robotics, simulation, and ROS2 development.