ROS 2

../_images/ros2_logo.jpg

ArduPilot capabilities can be extended with ROS (aka Robot Operating System).

ROS provides libraries, tools, hardware abstraction, device drivers, visualizers, message-passing, package management, and more to help software developers create robot applications. ROS has been succeded by ROS2, and Ardupilot now natively supports it through its library AP_DDS

Prerequisites

  • Learn on to use ArduPilot first by following the relevant wiki for Rover, Copter or Plane. In particular, make sure the vehicle works well in Manual and Autonomous modes like Guided and Auto before trying to use ROS.

  • Learn how to use ROS 2 by reading the beginner tutorials. In the case of a problem with ROS, it is best to ask on ROS community forums first (or google your error).

    We are keen to improve ArduPilot’s support of ROS 2 so if you find issues (such as commands that do not seem to be supported), please report them in the ArduPilot issues list with a title

First, make sure that you have succesfully installed ROS humble and create a ROS 2 workspace. This page assumes that your workspace is named ros2_ws

Before anything else, make sure that you have sourced your ROS 2 environment and check if it is configured correctly.

Finally, follow the Installing Build Dependencies section of AP_DDS’s README

Installation (Ubuntu)

To make installation easy, we will install the required packages using vcs and a ros2.repos files:

cd ~/ros2_ws/src
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/master/Tools/ros2/ros2.repos
vcs import --recursive < ros2.repos

Now update all dependencies:

cd ~/ros2_ws
sudo apt update
rosdep update
rosdep install --rosdistro ${ROS_DISTRO} --from-paths src -i

And finally, build your workspace:

cd ~/ros2_ws
colcon build --cmake-args -DBUILD_TESTING=ON

If you’d like to test your installation, run:

cd ~/ros2_ws
source ./install/setup.bash
colcon test --packages-select ardupilot_dds_tests
colcon test-result --all --verbose

Installation (MacOS)

To make installation easy, we will install the required packages using vcs and a ros2_macos.repos files:

cd ~/ros2_ws/src
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/master/Tools/ros2/ros2_macos.repos
vcs import --recursive < ros2_macos.repos

Now update all dependencies:

cd ~/ros_ws
source /{path_to_your_ros_distro_workspace}/install/setup.zsh

Build microxrcedds_gen:

cd ~/ros2_ws/src/microxrcedds_gen
./gradlew assemble
export PATH=$PATH:$(pwd)/scripts

And finally, build your workspace:

cd ~/ros2_ws
colcon build --symlink-install --cmake-args \
-DBUILD_TESTING=ON \
-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo \
-DCMAKE_MACOSX_RPATH=FALSE \
-DUAGENT_SOCKETCAN_PROFILE=OFF \
-DUAGENT_LOGGER_PROFILE=OFF \
-DUAGENT_USE_SYSTEM_LOGGER=OFF \
-DUAGENT_USE_SYSTEM_FASTDDS=ON \
-DUAGENT_USE_SYSTEM_FASTCDR=ON \
--event-handlers=desktop_notification-

If you’d like to test your installation, run:

cd ~/ros2_ws
colcon test \
--pytest-args -s -v \
--event-handlers console_cohesion+ desktop_notification- \
--packages-select ardupilot_dds_tests

Installation (Docker)

Clone the ArduPilot docker project:

git clone https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot_dev_docker.git

Build the container:

cd ~/ardupilot_dev_docker/docker
docker build -t ardupilot/ardupilot-dev-ros -f Dockerfile_dev-ros .

Start the container in interactive mode:

docker run -it --name ardupilot-dds ardupilot/ardupilot-dev-ros

Connect another bash process to the running container:

docker container exec -it ardupilot-dds /bin/bash

The remaining steps are the same as for Ubuntu. You may need to install MAVProxy if it is not available on the container.

pip install -U MAVProxy