The ROS multimaster extension for simplified deployment of multi-robot systems

This tutorial chapter describes how to set up a multi-robot system in ROS with the multimaster_fkie package. The package adds ROS support for multiple hosts, which can be added and removed from the network at any time without affecting the remaining nodes. The presented multi-master extension works with the unmodified ROS master and does not change the way ROS nodes communicate or establish connections with each other. Thus, the multi-robot system remains fully compatible with a single-master ROS system. It is easy to set up and execute the ROS masters independently on each robot. The multi-master extension takes care of synchronization and merges the masters into a unified network view. For better usability, the package includes a graphical user interface for monitoring, configuration and control of the ROS components. The latest version can be downloaded from https://​github.​com/​fkie/​multimaster_​fkie. You can also install the package from http://​packages.​ros.​org. The multimaster_fkie package works with all ROS versions since groovy.