Computer Setup


Setup Checklist

These instructions are intended to setup Intro Robotics students with a simulated Turtlebot3 Waffle in an Ubuntu 20.04 environment.

Ubuntu 20.04 Environment

There are many ways to configure an Ubuntu 20.04 programming environment (virtual machines, an Ubuntu 20.04 partition on your laptop, Docker) or even use ROS outside Ubuntu (ROS for Windows, ROS2, ROS through Windows Subsystem for Linux). For this class, we strongly recommend you pursue one of the following options:


Remote Access to the UChicago CSIL Computer Lab

Setup

To get started with remote access to the CSIL computer lab, you'll need the computer host name (e.g., spongebob.cs.uchicago.edu) that's been assigned to you for this course. Then, follow these steps:

1. Download and install the NoMachine Enterprise Client

2. Follow the steps on this page to configure your host using the NoMachine application with your given host name (e.g., spongebob.cs.uchicago.edu).

Connecting to Your Ubuntu 20.04 Host via Remote Access

Follow these steps each time you connect to your Ubuntu 20.04 remote access host:

  1. Open the NoMachine client app and you should see your connection listed (that you setup in the prior section). Click on your connection and hit the "Connect" button.
  2. You'll have to authenticate a couple of times using your UChicago credentials (CNet ID + password). You'll also be able to scroll through some settings and helpful tips.
  3. Now you should be logged into to your Ubuntu 20.04 host and can do your work for Intro Robotics.
  4. When you're done with your session, log out like you normally would on a computer and then terminate your NoMachine window.

ROS on Your Remote Access Host

ROS should already be installed on your remote host. You can check by running the roscore command in a terminal window. You should see an output that looks like the following: 

... logging to ~/.ros/log/9cf88ce4-b14d-11df-8a75-00251148e8cf/roslaunch-machine_name-13039.log
Checking log directory for disk usage. This may take awhile.
Press Ctrl-C to interrupt
Done checking log file disk usage. Usage is <1GB.

started roslaunch server http://machine_name:33919/
ros_comm version 1.15.8

SUMMARY
======

PARAMETERS
 * /rosdistro: noetic
 * /rosversion: 1.15.8

NODES

auto-starting new master
process[master]: started with pid [13054]
ROS_MASTER_URI=http://machine_name:11311/

setting /run_id to 9cf88ce4-b14d-11df-8a75-00251148e8cf
process[rosout-1]: started with pid [13067]
started core service [/rosout]

It is possible that instead of seeing the output above, you might see one of the following two errors:

If you do see one of these two errors or are otherwise unable to run roscore, run the following commands: 

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

Now, you should be able to run roscore and it should show the correct output.

Additionally, if you see the following warning when you open a new terminal or terminal tab: 

bash: ~cs/intro_robo_21/catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash: No such file or directory

Open up your .bashrc file, atom ~/.bashrc, and remove that line (for me, this was located at line 38).

If you are still not seeing the correct output when you run roscore, please reach out to the teaching team for help by posting in the #computer-setup-help channel in our course Slack.


Ubuntu 20.04 as your primary OS or within a partition

(Skip this section you're using Remote Access)

Setting Up an Ubuntu 20.04 Partition (Dual Boot)

First, you'll need to create a bootable USB thumb drive with Ubuntu 20.04 on it, follow the instructions on this "Create a bootable USB stick on Windows" Ubuntu Tutorial. Then install Ubuntu 20.04 on your machine from the USB thumb drive. I found it helpful to follow itzgeek's Ubuntu Dual Boot Alongside Windows instructions starting from Step 3.

ROS Installation

Follow these instructions to install ROS Noetic, following the steps to install the Ubuntu version and installing ros-noetic-desktop-full.

Installing the Necessary Dependencies for ROS and Turtlebot3

These instructions are based on those found on the ROBOTIS website. Install these necessary ROS dependencies:

$ sudo apt-get install ros-noetic-joy ros-noetic-teleop-twist-joy ros-noetic-teleop-twist-keyboard ros-noetic-laser-proc ros-noetic-rgbd-launch ros-noetic-rosserial-arduino ros-noetic-rosserial-python ros-noetic-rosserial-client ros-noetic-rosserial-msgs ros-noetic-amcl ros-noetic-map-server ros-noetic-move-base ros-noetic-urdf ros-noetic-xacro ros-noetic-compressed-image-transport ros-noetic-rqt-image-view ros-noetic-gmapping ros-noetic-navigation ros-noetic-interactive-markers
$ sudo apt-get install ros-noetic-ros-control*
$ sudo apt-get install ros-noetic-control* -o Dpkg::Options::="--force-overwrite"
$ sudo apt-get install ros-noetic-moveit*

(Optional) Zoom Install

If you are dual booting Ubuntu 20.04 or are running Ubuntu 20.04 natively on your laptop, make sure you have installed and can use Zoom in Ubuntu. The following are the steps you can take to install Zoom: 

$ sudo apt-get install wget
$ wget https://zoom.us/client/latest/zoom_amd64.deb -O zoom_amd64.deb
$ sudo apt install ./zoom_amd64.deb

Setting Up Your Catkin Workspace

Creating Your catkin_ws

These instructions are based on this ROS tutorial page. Carry out the following commands: 

$ source /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash
$ mkdir -p ~/catkin_ws/src
$ cd ~/catkin_ws/
$ catkin_make

Then, add the source catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash command to your ~/.bashrc file. 

$ echo "source ~/catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
Note: Every time you run the catkin_make command or open a new terminal, you'll need to source the catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash file, which is why we're adding it to the ~/.bashrc file.

To ensure that you've set up your catkin workspace properly: 1) close your current terminal window, 2) open a new terminal window, and 3) enter the command roscd. If you've set up your catkin workspace correctly, you should now be in the directory ~/catkin_ws/devel.

Turtlebot3 ROS Setup

Next, navigate to your catkin workspace's src folder and clone the necessary git repositories used for the Turtlebot3: 

$ cd ~/catkin_ws/src
$ git clone https://github.com/ROBOTIS-GIT/turtlebot3_msgs.git
$ git clone -b noetic-devel https://github.com/ROBOTIS-GIT/turtlebot3.git
$ git clone https://github.com/ROBOTIS-GIT/turtlebot3_simulations.git
$ git clone https://github.com/ROBOTIS-GIT/turtlebot3_manipulation.git
$ git clone https://github.com/ROBOTIS-GIT/turtlebot3_manipulation_simulations.git
$ git clone https://github.com/ROBOTIS-GIT/open_manipulator_dependencies.git

Finally, run the catkin_make command within your catkin workspace, source the devel/setup.bash file, and set your default turtlebot3 model to the waffle pi.

$ cd ~/catkin_ws && catkin_make
$ source devel/setup.bash
$ echo "export TURTLEBOT3_MODEL=waffle_pi" >> ~/.bashrc

You can test to ensure that you've installed all of the Turtlebot3 packages and dependencies by trying out a built-in teleoperation demo of the Turtlebot3 in a simulated house environment. You'll need to run the following commands in 3 separate terminal windows (or terminal tabs).

Terminal 1: 

$ roscore

Terminal 2: 

$ roslaunch turtlebot3_gazebo turtlebot3_house.launch

You should now see a turtlebot3 waffle (without the arm) within a simulated house environment:

Topics in HRI

Terminal 3: 

$ roslaunch turtlebot3_teleop turtlebot3_teleop_key.launch

Follow the directions in the terminal to teleoperate your simulated turtlebot3!

Class Repo/Package Setup

In the last step, we setup the the class repository. The class package is where you will place your scripts and use common course utilities. Navigate to your catkin workspace's src folder, clone the class repository and pull all of its submodules:

$ cd ~/catkin_ws/src
$ git clone https://github.com/Intro-Robotics-UChicago-Spring-2021/intro_robo
$ cd intro_robo
$ git submodule update --init --recursive

Then, similar to before, run the catkin_make command within your catkin workspace and source the devel/setup.bash file. 

$ cd ~/catkin_ws && catkin_make
$ source devel/setup.bash

The class repository contains several important catkin packages:

We will update the class package throughout the course to add new class meeting packages. Hence, you should update this package and build it prior to each class meeting. You can do so via the following commands,

$ cd ~/catkin_ws/src/intro_robo
$ git submodule update --init --recursive
$ cd ~/catkin_ws && catkin_make
$ source devel/setup.bash

Setting Up Your IDE

Recommended IDE

We recommend using VSCode to develop ROS applications. The autocomplete features from VSC extensions are very helpful when first learning rospy.

These are the extensions that we found helpful:

Here's also a guide to managing extensions in VSCode.


Hints & Tricks

If you are unfamiliar with Ubuntu or Gnome, we recommend that you take some time to familiarize with the user interface and the functionalities. Here is a short intro the gnome desktop. Additionally, students in the past have found the following tidbits helpful,


Acknowledgments

We give a BIG thank you to Colin Hudler and UChicago CS techstaff for their help and support in setting up remote access for this class to the UChicago CSIL Computer Lab as well as their ongoing support for ensuring that each student in the class get a working programming environment for Intro Robotics.


© Sarah Sebo