air_twizy_simulation

This repository contains the central codebase for the AIR team's sd_twizy vehicle, encompassing both simulation models and real-world implementation using ROS2.

Repository Tree

air_twizy_simulation/
│
├── docker/
│   ├── docker-compose.yml
│   └── Dockerfile
│
├── ros_packages/
│   ├── vehicle_interface_packages/
│   │   ├── ros2_socketcan/
│   │   ├── SD-VehicleInterface/
│   │   ├── .gitmodules
│   │   └── README.md
│   │
│   └── vehicle_simulation_packages/
│       ├── air_description/
│       ├── air_docs/
│       ├── air_sim/
│       └── vehicle_control_plugin/
│
├── utils/
│   ├── bash_container.sh
│   ├── build_docker.sh
│   ├── record_bag.sh
│   ├── run.sh
│   └── verify_submodules.sh
│
├── .env
├── .gitmodules
└── README.md

Usage

Prerequisites

Install Docker

Ensure that Docker is installed on your system. You can download it from the official Docker website. Docker Compose is also required, and you can install it by following the instructions on the official Docker Compose website.

Installation

Step 1: Clone the Repository

Clone the air_twizy_simulation repository to your local machine using the following command:

git clone https://github.com/AIR-UFG/air_twizy_simulation.git

Step 2: Build the Docker Image

Navigate to the cloned directory and build the Docker image using the provided build script:

cd air_twizy_simulation
./utils/build_docker.sh

Running the Simulation

Step 1: Start the Simulation

To start the simulation using Docker, run the following command setting the desired parameters:

./utils/run.sh GPU=false 

The run.sh script allows you to set certain environment variables that control the behavior of the Docker container. You can set these variables by passing arguments to the script in the format KEY=value. The supported variables are:

• GPU: Allows the user to run the PointCloud Process Plugin with GPU usage. Default value is set to false
• RVIZ: Open ROS Visualization Tool. Default value is set to false.
• PROJECTION: Enables the projection of the point cloud in 2D. Default value is set to false.
• WORLD_NAME: The name of the world file to be used in the simulation. Default value is set to ufg_default.world.
• FOV_UP: Field of view up. Default: 15.0 degrees.
• FOV_DOWN: Field of view down. Default: -15.0 degrees.
• WIDTH: Width of the projection. Default: 440 pixels, due to Gazebo limitations.
• HEIGHT: Height of the projection. Default: 16 pixels, due to the VLP-16 configuration.
• WITH_VI: Launch the vehicle interface. Default value is set to false.

Step 2: Control the Vehicle

Once the simulation has started, press play in the Gazebo window.

Open another terminal outside the container and inside the air_twizy_simulation directory. Then execute:

./utils/bash_container.sh

Then you can control the vehicle using the keyboard by running:

ros2 run vehicle_control sd_teleop_keyboard_control.py

Follow the instructions below to control the vehicle:

flowchart TB
    Start(("Start")) --> |"↑ W"| IncreaseVelocity[("Increase Velocity")]
    Start --> |"↓ S"| DecreaseVelocity[("Decrease Velocity")]
    Start --> |"← A"| TurnLeft[("Turn Left")]
    Start --> |"→ D"| TurnRight[("Turn Right")]
    Start --> |" X"| Stop[("Stop Vehicle")]

Loading

Recording and Playing a Bag File

Once all the processes above are already up and running, open another terminal outside the container and navigate to the air_twizy_simulation directory. Execute the following command to enter the container:

./utils/bash_container.sh

Execute the command to record the bag with specific topics:

./record_bag.sh <bag_prefix> <mode> [<topic>...]

If you want to record only the /velodyne_points topic, for example, you can use the following command:

./utils/record_bag.sh <bag_prefix> specific /velodyne_points

If you want to record all topics, use:

./utils/record_bag.sh <bag_prefix> all

Once the bag is being recorded you may control the vehicle through the city as you wish and then terminate the process with Ctrl+C.

The bag will be recorded inside the shared_folder directory that will be created in the air_twizy_simulation directory of the host machine when the container is started. This directory is shared between the host and the container.