/virtualbox-ubuntu-ros

Guide to install Ubuntu on Virtualbox (Windows host) for ROS learning purposes.

Installing ROS Noetic on Ubuntu 20.04 using VirtualBox (on Windows)

This guide will aid you in setting up Ubuntu on a virtual machine (on a Windows PC/Laptop) and install ROS on it. While installing ROS on a virtual machine is suitable for teaching and learning purposes, however, it is recommended to dual boot your computer for development.

  • Ubuntu Version: 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa

  • ROS Version: ROS Noetic

Guide compiled by Ian (@iangohy).

Prerequisites

  • PC/Laptop running Windows
  • At least 35GB of free disk space

Steps

  1. Install VirtualBox
  2. Download Ubuntu ISO
  3. Create Virtual Machine
  4. Install Ubuntu
  5. Installing ROS on Ubuntu
  6. Install VirtualBox Guest Additions (Optional)

1. Installing VirtualBox

  1. Download VirtualBox for Windows Host here (Version number might be different).

    virtualbox_download

  2. Run the .exe file and install VirtualBox.

2. Download Ubuntu ISO

  1. Download Ubuntu ISO here.

    ubuntu download

    Download may take a while as the file size for Ubuntu 20.04.2.0 LTS is 2.7GB.

3. Create Virtual Machine

  1. Open VirtualBox.

  2. Create a new virtual machine by clicking on the New icon or going to Machine > New.

    create_vm

  3. Enter Ubuntu as the name. Type and Version should be automatically filled for you, if not, set Type to Linux and Version to Ubuntu (64-bit). Click Next.

    vm name

  4. Increase the memory size to 6144MB (6GB). If 6144MB is within the orange or red zone, use a memory size of 4096MB instead. Click Next.

    ram size

  5. Select Create a virtual hard disk now and click Create.

    create hard disk

  6. Select VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image) and click Next.

    hard disk type

    1. Select Dynamically allocated and click Next.

    dynamically allocated

  7. Change the hard disk size to 35.00GB. You may change the location where the disk image is saved at but it is alright to leave it as the default. Click Create.

    hard disk size

  8. Right-click on the newly created virtual machine and click Settings. Alternatively single left-click the virtual machine and go to Machine > Settings.

    virtualbox main screen

  9. Navigate to Storage on the left-hand menu and select the Storage tab. Click on the line with the CD. On the right, under Optical Drive, click on the CD icon with the down arrow and select Choose a disk file.... Navigate to the earlier downloaded Ubuntu ISO.

folder icon

  1. Navigate to System on the left-hand menu and select the Processor tab. Increase the slider until the end of the green zone, which may be different as compared to the diagram below.

    settings

4. Install Ubuntu

  1. Double click on the newly created virtual machine.

    main screen

    The virtual machine will start to boot

  2. Wait while the virtual machine to checks the disk.

    check disk

  3. Select Install Ubuntu.

    install ubuntu

  4. Choose your keyboard layout as English (US). Click Continue.

    keyboard layout

  5. Select Minimal installation, Download updates while installing Ubuntu and Install third-party software for graphics and Wi-Fi hardware and additional media formats. Click Continue.

    updates and other software

  6. Select Erase disk and install Ubuntu. Click Install Now and click Continue if a warning pops out.

    erase disk

  7. Select your country and click Continue.

  8. Enter your personal details and click Continue.

  9. Wait while Ubuntu installs. This may take a while.

  10. Restart the VM. If prompted to remove the installation medium, just press enter.

    restart

  11. Congratulations! You've successfully installed Ubuntu on a virtual machine.

5. Installing ROS on Ubuntu

  1. Follow the instructions found here. For convenience, the commands have been listed below. If you encounter any errors or want to find out more, please go to the link to follow the full guide. Alternatively,

  2. Open Software & Updates program by pressing the windows key and searching Software & Updates.

  3. Tick all boxes and click Close.

    software and updates

  4. Click Reload.

  5. Open a terminal window by pressing the windows key and searching Terminal or using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+T.

  6. Run the following commands sequentially. For convenience, you may want to install the virtualbox guest additions which will enable Host to Guest clipboard via Devices > Shared Clipboard > Host to Guest , allowing you to copy from Windows and paste in Ubuntu. Alternatively, you can navigate to this page on Firefox in the virtual machine to copy and paste the commands.

    Commands adapted from http://wiki.ros.org/noetic/Installation/Ubuntu.

    Set up sources.list

    sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://packages.ros.org/ros/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ros-latest.list'

    Set up keys

    sudo apt-key adv --keyserver 'hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80' --recv-key C1CF6E31E6BADE8868B172B4F42ED6FBAB17C654

    Update Debian package index

    sudo apt update

    Install ROS Desktop-Full

    sudo apt install -y ros-noetic-desktop-full

    Source setup.bash

    echo "source /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

    Install dependencies for building packages

    sudo apt install -y python3-rosdep python3-rosinstall python3-rosinstall-generator python3-wstool build-essential

    sudo rosdep init
rosdep update

    Create a ROS Workspace

    mkdir -p ~/catkin_ws/src
cd ~/catkin_ws/
catkin_make

    Source catkin workspace

    echo "source $(pwd)/devel/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

6. Install VirtualBox Guest Additions (Optional)

VirtualBox Guest Addition on the guest OS will allow you to resize the window of VirtualBox.

  1. Open a terminal window and run

    sudo apt-get install -y build-essential gcc make perl dkms && sudo reboot now

  2. After the virtual machine has rebooted, login and click on `Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD image...

    guess additions

  3. Run the Guest Additions CD image

    run guest addition cd