Rove

Rove is a robot developed by the Capra team at ÉTS, designed for advanced applications in search and rescue robotics using ROS2 Humble.

Table of Contents

• Rove
  • Table of Contents
  • Installation Options
    • Docker Container (Recommended)
      • Windows Setup
      • Linux Setup
    • Native/WSL Installation
  • Running Rove
    • Simulation
    • Real-World launch
    • Controller Setup
    • Additional Components (Need hardware installation)
      • VectorNav
      • Robotiq Gripper (Need hardware installation)
    • Foxglove Interface
  • Development Guide
    • Each time you push to the repository, you need to ensure that black formatting is applied to all new files.
    • Adding New Packages
    • Updating Packages
  • Architecture
    • Package Structure
    • Docker Architecture

Installation Options

Docker Container (Recommended)

Using a dev container ensures consistent environments across development and CI/CD pipelines.

Windows Setup

1. Install required software:

   • Docker Desktop
   • Visual Studio Code
   • VcXsrv (Xserver)
   • VSCode Remote - Containers extension

2. Setup steps:

   • Clone and open the repository
   • Click the green button in VSCode's bottom left corner
   • Select "Remote-Containers: Reopen in Container"
   • Start Xserver with the -nowgl option

Linux Setup

Follow the same steps as Windows, excluding Xserver installation. Additionally:

1. Update DISPLAY environment variable in .env:

   echo DISPLAY=$DISPLAY

2. Configure controller node permissions:

   cat /dev/input/event0

Note: Consider configuring Docker for non-root usage

Native/WSL Installation

Requires Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

1. Install prerequisites:

   • ROS2 Humble (use ros-humble-desktop-full)
   • Gazebo Harmonic

2. Setup workspace:

   git clone https://github.com/clubcapra/rove.git
   cd rove
   vcs import src < rove.repos
   echo "export GZ_VERSION=harmonic" >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc
   sudo rosdep init
   rosdep update
   rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y
   colcon build --symlink-install
   source install/setup.bash

3. (Optional) Hardware package installation:

   vcs import src < rove_hw.repos
   rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y
   colcon build --symlink-install
   source install/setup.bash

Running Rove

Simulation

For WSL users:

export LIBGL_ALWAYS_INDIRECT=0 export LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

Launch simulation:

ros2 launch rove_bringup sim.launch.py

You can also launch the simulation with Ovis using the following command:

ros2 launch rove_bringup sim.launch.py with_ovis:=true

Real-World launch

You can launch the real-world robot using the following command:

ros2 launch rove_bringup real.launch.py

Controller Setup

USB connection:

source install/setup.bash
ros2 launch rove_bringup rove_controller_usb.launch.py

Bluetooth connection:

source install/setup.bash
ros2 launch rove_bringup rove_controller_bluetooth.launch.py

Additional Components (Need hardware installation)

VectorNav

ros2 launch rove_bringup vectornav.launch.py

Robotiq Gripper (Need hardware installation)

# Launch controller
ros2 launch robotiq_description robotiq_control.launch.py

# Control commands
# Close gripper
ros2 action send_goal /robotiq_gripper_controller/gripper_cmd control_msgs/action/GripperCommand "{command:{position: 1, max_effort: 1.0}}"

# Open gripper
ros2 action send_goal /robotiq_gripper_controller/gripper_cmd control_msgs/action/GripperCommand "{command:{position: 0, max_effort: 1.0}}"

# View in RViz
ros2 launch robotiq_description view_gripper.launch.py

Foxglove Interface

1. Install as service:

   ./utils/install.sh

2. Or launch manually:

   ros2 launch rove_launch_handler launch_handler.py

Configuration file location: utils/ui/capra_ui.json

Development Guide

Each time you push to the repository, you need to ensure that black formatting is applied to all new files.

black .

Adding New Packages

1. Create using ROS2 package creation commands
2. Name Rove-specific packages with rove_ prefix
3. External packages should be added to rove.repos

Updating Packages

• Rove packages: Update directly in repository
• External packages: Update references in rove.repos
• Apply updates: vcs import src < rove.repos

Architecture

Package Structure

• Bringup: Initializes rover in real-world settings
• Description: Contains URDF robot description
• Gazebo: Handles simulation environment
• Navigation: Integrates nav2 framework
• SLAM: Handles mapping and localization

Docker Architecture