SUAVE: An Exemplar for Self-Adaptive Underwater Vehicles

This repository contains SUAVE (Self-adaptive Underwater Autonomous Vehicle Exemplar). SUAVE focuses on the scenario of pipeline inspection for a single autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The AUV’s mission is to first search for a pipeline on the seabed, then follow and inspect the pipeline.

It clearly separates the system into two subsystems: the managed subsystem and the managing subsystem. The managed subsystem implements the functionalities required by the AUV to perform the pipeline inspection mission, and the managing subsystem implements the adaptation logic. This ensures that this exemplar can be reused with several different managing subsystems, providing that they satisfy the necessary requirements. The usability of the exemplar is showcased with MROS2, the implementation of the self-adaptation framework Metacontrol.

This repository is organized as following:

• The package suave contains the managed subsystem functionalities
• The package suave_missions contains the AUV's missions
• The package suave_metacontrol contains the metacontrol implementation of the managing subsystems, and a random managing subsystem
• The package suave_msgs contains suave's specific ros msgs
• The folder docker contains the dockerfiles and scripts used to package this repository
• The folder runner contains the bash scripts to run the exemplar

A video of the SUAVE running (click in the image to open the video):

An overview of the system:

The exemplar can either be used with Docker or installed locally. The exemplar can be executed following this instructions.

A paper describing this exemplar was presented at SEAMS 2023 artifact track, you can find it here. And an open access pre-print can be found here.

Navigate the README

• Use SUAVE with Docker
• Install SUAVE locally
• Run SUAVE
• Extending SUAVE and connecting managing subsystems
• Related repository
• Citation
• Acknowledgments

Use SUAVE with Docker

You can pull and run the exemplar as a Docker container using the following command. Keep in mind you need to have Docker installed on your computer and running.

In a terminal on your computer run:

docker run -it --shm-size=512m -p 6901:6901 -e VNC_PW=password --security-opt seccomp=unconfined ghcr.io/kas-lab/suave:main

Optionally you can add the parameter -v <absolute_path_host_compute>:/home/kasm-user/suave/results to save the results into your computer, replace <absolute_path_host_compute> with the absolute path of where you want the data to be saved in your computer, e.g:

docker run -it --shm-size=512m -v $HOME/suave_results:/home/kasm-user/suave/results -p 6901:6901 -e VNC_PW=password --security-opt seccomp=unconfined ghcr.io/kas-lab/suave:main

SEAMS2023: To use the docker image used in the SEAMS2023 paper, replace ghcr.io/kas-lab/suave:main with ghcr.io/kas-lab/suave:seams2023.

Once the container is up and running, you can interface with it through your web browser. The container will be hosted locally at the port specified, in this case 6901. So in your browser, go to http://localhost:6901.

A dialog will request a username and password, these are shown below, with the password being specifiable in the run command.

• User : kasm_user
• Password: password

Now you can proceed to run the exemplar.

Build Docker images locally

To build the docker images locally, run:

./build_docker_images.sh

Install SUAVE locally

To install the exemplar locally, you have to install Gazebo Garden, install ROS2 Humble, install ArduSub, install the ArduSub plugin, and finally install the SUAVE workspace.

Install Gazebo Garden

Follow the official instructions for installing Gazebo Garden.

Install ROS2 Humble

Follow the official instructions for installing ROS2 Humble.

Install ArduSub

ArduSub is a subproject within ArduPilot for piloting underwater vehicles.

Disclaimer: Problems may occur with different combinations of ArduPilot and MavROS versions. This repo was tested with this ArduPilot commit and mavros 2.4.0. Unfortunately, at least at the time of writing this README, the releases available in Ubuntu 22.04 do not match.

cd ~/
git clone https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot.git
cd ardupilot
git checkout ab597cb
git submodule update --init --recursive

Note that the script used to install prerequisites available for this version of ArduSub does not work in Ubuntu 22.04. Therefore, you need to replace them before running ArduSub. To install the ArduPilot prerequisites, do the following.

cd ~/ardupilot
cd Tools/environment_install/
rm install-prereqs-ubuntu.sh
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/master/Tools/environment_install/install-prereqs-ubuntu.sh
cd ~/ardupilot
chmod +x Tools/environment_install/install-prereqs-ubuntu.sh
Tools/environment_install/install-prereqs-ubuntu.sh -y
. ~/.profile

To test if the installation worked, run:

sim_vehicle.py -v ArduSub -L RATBeach --console --map

ArduPilot SITL should open and a console plus a map should appear.

Install the ArduSub plugin

Install the dependencies:

sudo apt install libgz-sim7-dev rapidjson-dev

Clone and build the repository:

cd ~/
git clone https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot_gazebo
cd ardupilot_gazebo
mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo
make -j4

Add the required paths:

Assuming that you have cloned the repository in $HOME/ardupilot_gazebo, run:

echo 'export GZ_SIM_SYSTEM_PLUGIN_PATH=$HOME/ardupilot_gazebo/build:${GZ_SIM_SYSTEM_PLUGIN_PATH}' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export GZ_SIM_RESOURCE_PATH=$HOME/ardupilot_gazebo/models:$HOME/ardupilot_gazebo/worlds:${GZ_SIM_RESOURCE_PATH}' >> ~/.bashrc

Now that new environmental variables have been added to your terminal, you need to reload it with

source ~/.bashrc

More info about the plugin can be found in the corresponding repository.

Install the SUAVE workspace

Create the workspace and download the required repositories:

mkdir -p ~/suave_ws/src/
cd ~/suave_ws/

If you want to get the most updated version of the repo:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kas-lab/suave/main/suave.rosinstall
vcs import src < suave.rosinstall --recursive

SEAMS2023: If you want to get the version submitted to SEAMS 2023 instead of the most updated version get the following dependencies instead:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kas-lab/suave/9e6468896ce766376557ca9522d84f92b70129f1/suave.rosinstall
vcs import src < suave.rosinstall --recursive

Before building the ros_gz package (one of the dependencies), you need to export the gazebo version:

export GZ_VERSION="garden"

You can also add this to your ~/.bashrc to make this process easier.

Install the dependencies:

source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash
cd ~/suave_ws/
rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y

Build the project:

cd ~/suave_ws/
colcon build --symlink-install

If you have memory problems while building the package, run the following command instead, it is slower but uses less memory:

colcon build --symlink-install --executor sequential --parallel-workers 1

Install a MAVROS dependency:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mavlink/mavros/master/mavros/scripts/install_geographiclib_datasets.sh
sudo bash ./install_geographiclib_datasets.sh

Now you can proceed to run the exemplar.

Run SUAVE

Runner

Trying it out!

If you simply want to try out the exemplar, simply enter the following commands in a terminal:

cd ~/suave_ws/src/suave/runner/
./example_run.sh

Within a couple of minutes, some new terminals should open as well as the Gazebo simulator. A default mission is executed of inspecting the pipeline with a time limit. To follow the robot as it progresses along its mission make sure to right click and follow it in the entity tree of Gazebo as shown below:

Please note: It can take a little while for the robot to get moving, it is an issue we are aware of. Once it does get a move on you should see it perform its mission for about 5 minutes.

Full Runner

To run the exemplar with the runner, first make sure you are in the suave workspace:

cd ~/suave_ws/src/suave/runner/

Then run:

Without gui:

./runner.sh false metacontrol time 2

With gui:

./runner.sh true metacontrol time 2

The runner script takes 4 positional parameters:

1. true or false -> indicates if the gui should be used
2. metacontrol or random or none -> indicates which managing subsystem to use
3. time or distance -> indicates which mission to run
4. number of runs

Without the runner

Configuring SUAVE: SUAVE has a number of parameters that may be of interest when running experiments with its missions, such as the time limit of a time constrained mission or the frequency of thruster failure. These can be found in the mission_config.yaml file. Note: When you change the mission_config file, you need to rebuild the suave_ws with colcon build --symlink-install

Note: Before starting the simulation or the ros nodes, remember that you have to source SUAVE's workspace. If you are using the dockerized version this is already done for you, therefore sourcing the workspace is not necessary.

Navigate to the workspace and source it:

cd ~/suave_ws/
source install/setup.bash

With SUAVE configured and sourced, start ArduSub, the simulation, and the SUAVE's nodes with the following instructions.

Start ArduSub

Run:

sim_vehicle.py -L RATBeach -v ArduSub  --model=JSON --console

Start the simulation

Run:

ros2 launch suave simulation.launch.py x:=-17.0 y:=2.0

Note: It is possible to pass arguments to specify the x and y coordinates of where the UUV spawns, by changing the values. In the above launch command the initial coordinates are set to (-17.0, 2.0).

Start SUAVE's nodes

Run:

ros2 launch suave_missions mission.launch.py

Mission results: The mission results will be saved in the path specified in the mission_config.yaml file.

Selecting the manging system and mission type: Launching the mission file without launch arguments will start a time-constrained mission without a managing subsystem. To select a different managing subsystem or a different type of mission, the following launch arguments can be used:

'adaptation_manager':
    Managing subsystem to be used
    available values: none/metacontrol/random
    (default: 'none')

'mission_type':
    Type of mission to be executed
    available values: time_constrained_mission/const_dist_mission
    (default: 'time_constrained_mission')

'result_filename':
    Filename for the mission measured metrics
    available values: any name
    (default: 'time_constrained_mission_results')

The arguments can be defined by adding the above arguments with the notation <name>:=<value> to the end of the command line.

An example of running the constant distance mission with metacontrol saving to a file called 'measurement_1':

ros2 launch suave_missions mission.launch.py adaptation_manager:=metacontrol mission_type:=const_dist_mission result_filename:=measurement_1

Extending SUAVE and connecting managing subsystems

Connecting managing subsystems

SUAVE is designed to allow for different managing subsystems to be used, as long as they adhere to the correct ROS 2 interfaces. SUAVE's ROS2 interfaces are:

1. The /diagnostics topic, which is where monitoring information is published. This topic uses the diagnostic_msgs/DiagnosticArray message type
2. The /task/request and /task/cancel services, which are used to request and cancel tasks, respectively. Both services use the suave_msgs/Task service type
3. Three system_modes services to change SUAVE's LifeCycle nodes mode. These services use the system_modes_msgs/ChangeMode service type:
   1. Service /f_maintain_motion/change_mode to change the Maintain Motion node modes
   2. Service /f_generate_search_path/change_mode to change the Generate Search Path node modes
   3. Service /f_follow_pipeline/change_mode to change the Follow Pipeline node modes

Thus, to connect a different managing subsystem to SUAVE, it must subscribe to /diagnostics to get monitoring information, send adaptation goals (task) requests via /task/request and /task/cancel, and send reconfiguration requests via /f_maintain_motion/change_mode, /f_generate_search_path/change_mode, or /f_follow_pipeline/change_mode.

In order to use the new managing subsystem with the launchfile mission.launch.py as explained in the run suave section, a new launchfile must be created for the new managing subsystem (check suave_metacontrol.launch.py for an example), and the new launch file must be included in the mission.launch.py file.

The new launch file must include SUAVE's base launch:

suave_launch_path = os.path.join(
        pkg_suave_path,
        'launch',
        'suave.launch.py')

suave_launch = IncludeLaunchDescription(
    PythonLaunchDescriptionSource(suave_launch_path),
    launch_arguments={
        'task_bridge': 'False'}.items()
)

To include it in mission.launch.py, add the following code replacing [new_managing_subsystem] with the proper name:

[new_managing_subsystem]_launch_path = os.path.join(
        pkg_suave_metacontrol_path,
        'launch',
        '[new_managing_subsystem].launch.py')

[new_managing_subsystem]_launch = IncludeLaunchDescription(
        PythonLaunchDescriptionSource([new_managing_subsystem]_launch_path),
        condition=LaunchConfigurationEquals('adaptation_manager',
                    '[new_managing_subsystem]'))

Extend SUAVE

To extend SUAVE with new functionalities, it is only required to add new LifeCycle nodes that implement the new functionalities (check spiral_search_lc.py for an example), and add its different modes to the system_modes configuration file suave_modes.yaml. Note, that if you create a new configuration file, you should replace the suave_modes.yaml path with the new file path.

Troubleshooting

List of known problems and their solutions. If you find new problems and find a solution for it, please consider contributing to this section.

MAVROS and ArduSub integration problems:

A common problem that occurs over time is that some packages are upgraded in Ubuntu 22.04 and the connection between MAVROS and ArduSub stops working. I don't know how to fix this issue long term, but a workaround is to update MAVROS and/or ArduSub and check if it works again.

Before updating MAVROS and ArduSub upgrade your Ubuntu:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Update ArduSub:

Due to ArduSub usage of submodules, it is simpler to just remove the whole ardupilo repo and build it from scratch again.

rm -rf ~/ardupilot

To find the latest version of ArduSub go to the ardupilot repo and look for the newest branch of ArduSub. At the time of this writing, the latest branch is Sub-4.1 at commit e9f46b9. After you know the latest branch or commit you want to get, follow the install ardusub instructions replacing the commit in git checkout e9f46b9 with the commit/branch you selected.

Update MAVROS: To update MAVROS, you can either change its version in the suave.rosinstall file with the newest version of mavros, or simply change the version to ros2. Then you need to pull the repo:

cd ~/suave_ws/
vcs pull src

Alternatively, instead of updating the suave.rosinstall file, you can just update mavros manually:

cd ~/suave_ws/src/mavros
git checkout ros2
git pull

Don't forget to rebuild the suave workspace:

cd ~/suave_ws/
colcon build --symlink-install

Related repository

REMARO Summer School Delft 2022 - Underwater robotics hackathon

Citation

If you find this repository useful, please consider citing:

@INPROCEEDINGS{10173938,
  author={Silva, Gustavo Rezende and Päßler, Juliane and Zwanepol, Jeroen and Alberts, Elvin and Tarifa, S. Lizeth Tapia and Gerostathopoulos, Ilias and Johnsen, Einar Broch and Corbato, Carlos Hernández},
  booktitle={2023 IEEE/ACM 18th Symposium on Software Engineering for Adaptive and Self-Managing Systems (SEAMS)},
  title={SUAVE: An Exemplar for Self-Adaptive Underwater Vehicles},
  year={2023},
  volume={},
  number={},
  pages={181-187},
  doi={10.1109/SEAMS59076.2023.00031}}

Acknowledgments

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 956200.

Please visit our website for more information on our project.