TurtleBot 4

Name: TurtleBot 4
Brand: ROBOTIS

ROS 2 Mobile Research and Education Platform

$1,495 – $3,495

The TurtleBot 4 is an advanced mobile robotics platform developed by Clearpath Robotics in collaboration with iRobot, built on the Create 3 mobile base. It comes in two versions: the standard TurtleBot 4 and the TurtleBot 4 Lite, both designed for ROS 2 development, research, and education. The platform features comprehensive sensor suites including OAK-D spatial cameras, 2D LiDAR, and integrated compute power via Raspberry Pi 4, making it ideal for autonomous navigation, SLAM, and computer vision applications.

Released: 2022

Overview

The TurtleBot 4 represents the latest generation of the world's most popular open-source robotics platform, bringing together the strengths of Clearpath Robotics and iRobot. Built on the iRobot Create 3 mobile base, it provides a robust and reliable foundation for robotics development with native ROS 2 support. The platform is available in two configurations: the TurtleBot 4 with full sensor suite including RPLIDAR A1M8 and OAK-D spatial camera, and the TurtleBot 4 Lite with a simplified sensor package for budget-conscious applications.

Designed specifically for the ROS 2 ecosystem, the TurtleBot 4 comes pre-configured with Raspberry Pi 4 compute running Ubuntu 22.04 and ROS 2 Humble. This makes it immediately accessible for students, researchers, and developers looking to explore autonomous navigation, SLAM, computer vision, and multi-robot systems. The platform's modular design allows for easy customization and expansion, while maintaining compatibility with the extensive TurtleBot software ecosystem.

The TurtleBot 4 continues the legacy of making advanced robotics accessible to educational institutions and research labs worldwide. With comprehensive documentation, simulation support through Gazebo, and an active community, it serves as an ideal platform for learning robotics fundamentals as well as conducting cutting-edge research in mobile manipulation, human-robot interaction, and autonomous systems.

Key Features

iRobot Create 3 Base: Robust mobile platform with 240-minute battery life and advanced cliff detection
ROS 2 Native Support: Pre-configured with ROS 2 Humble on Ubuntu 22.04 for immediate development
OAK-D Spatial Camera: Integrated stereo vision and depth sensing for computer vision applications
RPLIDAR A1M8: 360-degree 2D LiDAR with 12-meter range for mapping and navigation (standard model)
Raspberry Pi 4: Onboard compute with 4GB RAM for autonomous processing and control
User-Friendly Interface: Built-in HMI buttons and display for easy robot interaction and status monitoring
Simulation Ready: Full Gazebo simulation support for algorithm development and testing
Modular Design: Multiple mounting points and expansion options for custom payloads and sensors

Applications

The TurtleBot 4 is extensively used in educational settings, from undergraduate robotics courses to graduate-level research programs. Universities and research institutions leverage the platform for teaching autonomous navigation, SLAM algorithms, sensor fusion, and multi-robot coordination. Its accessibility and comprehensive ROS 2 integration make it an ideal tool for students to gain hands-on experience with modern robotics software architecture and development practices.

In research environments, the TurtleBot 4 serves as a testbed for advancing autonomous systems, human-robot interaction studies, and swarm robotics experiments. The platform's expandability allows researchers to prototype custom applications in areas such as warehouse automation, indoor navigation, social robotics, and edge AI deployment. Its balance of affordability and capability makes it particularly valuable for proof-of-concept development before scaling to industrial platforms.

Technical Highlights

The TurtleBot 4's integration of the iRobot Create 3 base brings enterprise-grade reliability to the research platform, featuring advanced safety systems including cliff detection, bump sensing, and wheel drop detection. The Create 3's native ROS 2 support eliminates the need for bridging layers, providing direct access to all robot functions through standard ROS 2 interfaces. The platform's sensor suite, particularly the OAK-D camera with depth AI capabilities, enables sophisticated perception tasks including object detection, spatial tracking, and neural network inference at the edge.

The platform's software stack is designed for immediate productivity, with pre-configured navigation packages, SLAM implementations, and simulation environments. The inclusion of both RPLIDAR for precise 2D mapping and the OAK-D camera for 3D perception provides complementary sensing modalities essential for robust autonomous operation. The Raspberry Pi 4 compute module offers sufficient processing power for most educational and research applications while maintaining the platform's accessible price point, and its standard form factor allows for straightforward upgrades or customization as project needs evolve.