FAIRIS-Lite

FAIRIS-Lite is a project framework that allows you to implement navigational control logic directly on the open-source robotic simulation platform Webots. With this framework, you can create your own Webots controller without the need to set up a simulated environment or robot, as we provide all the materials required to get started.

Requirements

To work with FAIRIS-Lite, ensure that your system meets the following requirements:

1. Python 3.10+: If you don't have Python 3.10 or above installed, you can find a guided tutorial on how to install or update Python here or here.

2. Cyberbotics Webots R2023b: FAIRIS-Lite works in conjunction with Webots version R2023b. You need to install this open-source software to utilize FAIRIS-Lite. A guided installation guide can be found here.

Setup Instructions

Follow these steps to set up FAIRIS-Lite on your local machine:

1. Clone this repository onto your device.
   1. There are numerous ways to achieve this, and you can decide which option is best for you. Please note that if you are going to be using this repo for a course or for an extended amount of time we recommend that you clone the repo and preform pulls when an update is pushed. A complete guide on how to clone github repositories can be found here.

Clone command

git clone https://github.com/biorobaw/FAIRIS-Lite.git

2. Open a terminal session (on MacOS or Linux) or a command shell (on Windows).

Launching Terminal on MacOS

1. Press Command + Space Bar on your Mac keyboard (alternatively, press F4).
2. Type "Terminal" in the Spotlight search and click to open the app.

Launching Terminal on Linux

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T to instantly launch a Terminal window.

Launching Command Prompt on Windows

1. Press the Windows Key + R, type in cmd.exe, and press Enter.

Once in the terminal session or command shell, navigate to the setup directory and run the following commands:

MacOS and Linux

FAIRIS-Lite $ cd setup
setup $ python3 setup.py

Windows

FAIRIS-Lite $ cd setup
setup $ python setup.py

Running the setup.py script will create a Python virtual environment (venv) and install all the necessary Python libraries to run FAIRIS-Lite. The script will also configure Webots so that any additional libraries created by the user can be imported and utilized.

PyCharm Support

FAIRIS-Lite offers PyCharm integration with Webots. To set this up, follow these steps:

1. Open the FAIRIS-Lite directory as a project in PyCharm.
2. Add the content roots as the FAIRIS-Lite directory.
3. Set the Python interpreter to be the venv created in the previous steps.

For detailed instructions on configuring PyCharm to integrate with Webots, refer to the guide.

Testing FAIRIS-Lite Setup

To test if FAIRIS-Lite has been set up properly, follow these steps:

1. Launch Webots and open the world file located in FAIRIS-Lite -> WebotsSim -> worlds -> StartingWorld.wbt.
2. Once Webots loads the world, you should see the Template controller running, which adds walls and places the robot in a starting location.
3. The robot controller will print various sensor readings and move approximately 1.5 meters before stopping.
4. By selecting the rest button on the Webots interface, you will see this process repeat.

Now you have successfully set up FAIRIS-Lite, and you can start developing your robot controllers in Webots using Python. Happy coding!

Guide for Webot Contoller Creation

A detailed guide for creating a new Webot Robot Controller can be found here.

RosBot Library Documentaion

We provide a library which allows users to add a Robot Object to their controllers. The provided Library includes a Python class called RosBot that can be instantiate in a controller and provides functions to access sensors, motors, and load in objects in the simulated environment. Documentation of this library can be found here.