In this repository are the files nessary to build our ROS (Robot Operating System) package.
We use Ubuntu 18.04 and ROS Melodic
This package is loaded and runs on our Nvidia Jetson TX2 onboard the quadcopter.
It then feeds commands to the Pixhawk 2 using MAVROS.
Note that there is a Troubleshooting section at the bottom of this page.
Code blocks are meant to be typed in Terminal windows. "Control+Alt+T" opens a new Terminal window.
- Do Desktop Install
- Follow until Step 1.7 at the end of the page
First, install ROS Melodic using the following instructions: http://wiki.ros.org/melodic/Installation/Ubuntu
We use catkin build instead of catkin_make. Please install the following:
sudo apt-get install python-wstool python-rosinstall-generator python-catkin-tools
Then, initialize the catkin workspace:
mkdir -p ~/catkin_ws/src
cd ~/catkin_ws
catkin init
Install mavros and mavlink from source:
cd ~/catkin_ws
wstool init ~/catkin_ws/src
rosinstall_generator --upstream mavros | tee /tmp/mavros.rosinstall
rosinstall_generator mavlink | tee -a /tmp/mavros.rosinstall
wstool merge -t src /tmp/mavros.rosinstall
wstool update -t src
rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src --rosdistro `echo $ROS_DISTRO` -y
catkin build
Open your ~/.bashrc for editing:
gedit ~/.bashrc
Add this line to end of ~/.bashrc:
source ~/catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash
Save and exit. Then run:
source ~/.bashrc
cd ~/catkin_ws/src
git clone https://github.com/Texas-Aerial-Robotics/Controls-ROS.git
Our repository should now be copied to ~/catkin_ws/src/Controls-ROS/ (don't run this line. This is just saying that if you browse in the file manager, you will see those folders).
Inside catkin_ws, run catkin build:
cd ~/catkin_ws
catkin build
In home directory:
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/Texas-Aerial-Robotics/ardupilot.git
cd ardupilot
git checkout Copter-3.5
git submodule update --init --recursive
Install some packages:
sudo apt install python-matplotlib python-serial python-wxgtk3.0 python-wxtools python-lxml python-scipy python-opencv ccache gawk git python-pip python-pexpect
sudo pip2 install future pymavlink MAVProxy
Open ~/.bashrc for editing:
gedit ~/.bashrc
Add these lines to end of ~/.bashrc (the file open in the text editor):
export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/ardupilot/Tools/autotest
export PATH=/usr/lib/ccache:$PATH
Save and close the text editor.
Reload ~/.bashrc:
. ~/.bashrc
Run SITL (Software In The Loop) once to set params:
cd ~/ardupilot/ArduCopter
sim_vehicle.py -w
Once the new Terminal window pops up and you see the ArduPilot software say "READY TO FLY," you can kill the process by hitting "Control+C" in the Terminal it is running out of.
Setup your computer to accept software from http://packages.osrfoundation.org:
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://packages.osrfoundation.org/gazebo/ubuntu-stable `lsb_release -cs` main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/gazebo-stable.list'
Setup keys:
wget http://packages.osrfoundation.org/gazebo.key -O - | sudo apt-key add -
Reload software list:
sudo apt update
Install Gazebo:
sudo apt install gazebo9 libgazebo9-dev
Install ROS plugins:
sudo apt install ros-melodic-gazebo-ros ros-melodic-gazebo-plugins
Get Gazebo plugin for APM (ArduPilot Master):
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/SwiftGust/ardupilot_gazebo
cd ardupilot_gazebo
git checkout gazebo9
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j4
sudo make install
Set paths for models:
echo 'export GAZEBO_MODEL_PATH=~/ardupilot_gazebo/gazebo_models' >> ~/.bashrc
. ~/.bashrc
Add Gazebo Models:
hg clone https://bitbucket.org/osrf/gazebo_models ~/gazebo_ws/gazebo_models
cd ~/gazebo_ws/gazebo_models
echo 'export GAZEBO_MODEL_PATH=~/gazebo_ws/gazebo_models' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
In one Terminal (Terminal 1), run SITL:
cd ~/ardupilot/ArduCopter/
sim_vehicle.py -j4 -f Gazebo --console
In another Terminal (Terminal 2), run Gazebo:
gazebo --verbose ~/ardupilot_gazebo/gazebo_worlds/iris_irlock_demo.world
Set parameters for sim in the same window after you run the sim_vehicle.py script.
Do this by using command param load <filename>
Example params can be found in the Controls-Other repo: https://github.com/Texas-Aerial-Robotics/Controls-Other
To load our parameters, clone our Controls-Other repository (Terminal 3):
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/Texas-Aerial-Robotics/Controls-Other
In the Ardupilot simulator Terminal (Terminal 1) run:
param load ../../Controls-Other/Params/Sim_master.param
Play around, then close by "Control+C" in the Terminal windows.
In order to use the Ardupilot simulator with the Roombas - as well as other plugins such as cameras - you need to add ROS packages to Gazebo. Install the following dependencies:
sudo apt install ros-melodic-gazebo-ros ros-melodic-gazebo-plugins
Clone in Gazebo-Ros in your catkin_ws and the Computations repo in your home directory:
cd ~/catkin_ws/src
git clone https://github.com/Texas-Aerial-Robotics/Gazebo-Ros.git
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/Texas-Aerial-Robotics/Computations.git
Add the following to your ~/.bashrc to use the Roomba plugins:
export GAZEBO_MODEL_PATH=${GAZEBO_MODEL_PATH}:~/Computations/roomba_host/models
export GAZEBO_PLUGIN_PATH=${GAZEBO_PLUGIN_PATH}:~/Computations/roomba_host/build
Build the ROS packages you just downloaded:
cd ~/catkin_ws/
catkin build
Reload ~/.bashrc so the Terminal knows where the packages are located:
source ~/.bashrc
In one Terminal (Terminal 1):
roslaunch gazebo_ros_sim droneOnly.launch
In another Terminal (Terminal 2), run the following command to start and connect the Ardupilot simulator to Gazebo:
cd ~/ardupilot/ArduCopter/ && sim_vehicle.py -f gazebo-iris --console -I0
Play around, then close by "Control+C" in the Terminal windows.
Install image view:
sudo apt install ros-melodic-image-view
To see camera view:
rosrun image_view image_view image:=/webcam/image_raw
Launch the sim via roslaunch (Terminal 1):
roslaunch gazebo_ros_sim droneOnly.launch
In another Terminal (Terminal 2) run the following command to start and connect the Ardupilot sim to Gazebo:
cd ~/ardupilot/ArduCopter/ && sim_vehicle.py -f gazebo-iris --console -I0
In another Terminal (Terminal 3) run:
cd ~/Controls-Other/Launch/
roslaunch apm.launch
Be sure to wait for the drone to go throught the full initialization process. The drone will be ready to fly once the console reads Optical Flow now aiding and origin set to GPS. For the competition we will not use GPS to home the drone, but for introduction sake let the drone use GPS
In another Terminal (Terminal 4) run:
rosrun flight_pkg staple
Then in MavProxy (Terminal 2) switch the mode into guided:
mode GUIDED
you did it! 🎉
cd ~/catkin_ws/src/mavros/mavros/scripts
sudo ./install_geographiclib_datasets.sh
sudo apt install ros-melodic-geometry-msgs
References: