rosbot-xl-autonomy

Autonomous navigation & mapping for ROSbot XL with a web user interface powered by Foxglove. Works over the Internet thanks to Husarnet VPN

Note

There are two setups on two separate branchers available

branch name	description
ros2router	Running ROS 2 containers on ROSbot and on PC with the interface in RViz
foxglove	Running ROS 2 containers only on ROSbot with a web user interface powered by Foxglove

🛍️ Necessary Hardware

For the execution of this project prepare:

1. ROSbot XL - with any SBC (RPi4, NUC or Jetson)
2. SLAMTEC lidar - A2, A3, S2 or S3 models

These items are available for purchase as a complete kit at our online store.

Quick start (Physical ROSbot)

Note

To simplify the execution of this project, we are utilizing just.

Install it with:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://just.systems/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --to /usr/bin

To see all available commands just run just:

husarion@rosbotxl:~/rosbot-xl-autonomy$ just
Available recipes:
    connect-husarnet joincode hostname # connect to Husarnet VPN network
    sync hostname="${ROBOT_NAMESPACE}" password="husarion" # Copy repo content to remote host with 'rsync' and watch for changes
    flash-firmware     # flash the proper firmware for STM32 microcontroller in ROSbot XL
    start-rosbot       # start containers on a physical ROSbot XL
    start-simulation engine="gazebo" # start the simulation (available options: gazebo, webots)
    restart-navigation # Restart the Nav2 container

🌎 Step 1: Connecting ROSbot and Laptop over VPN

Ensure that both ROSbot XL and your laptop are linked to the same Husarnet VPN network. If they are not follow these steps:

1. Setup a free account at app.husarnet.com, create a new Husarnet network, click the [Add element] button and copy the code from the Join Code tab.
2. Run in the linux terminal on your PC:

   cd rosbot-xl-telepresence/ # remember to run all "just" commands in the repo root folder
   export JOINCODE=<PASTE_YOUR_JOIN_CODE_HERE>
   just connect-husarnet $JOINCODE my-laptop

3. Run in the linux terminal of your ROSbot:

   export JOINCODE=<PASTE_YOUR_JOIN_CODE_HERE>
   sudo husarnet join $JOINCODE rosbotxl

   note that rosbotxl is a default ROSbot hostname used in this project

📡 Step 2: Sync

This repository contains the Docker Compose setup for ROSbot XL. You can clone it to both PC and ROSbot, or use the just sync script to clone it to your PC and keep it synchronized with the robot

just sync rosbotxl

Note

This just sync script locks the terminal and synchronizes online all changes made locally on the robot. rosbotxl is the name of device set in Husarnet.

🔧 Step 3: Verifying User Configuration

To ensure proper user configuration, review the content of the .env file and select the appropriate configuration (the default options should be suitable).

• LIDAR_BAUDRATE - depend on mounted LiDAR,
• MECANUM - wheel type,
• SLAM - choose between mapping and localization modes,
• SAVE_MAP_PERIOD - period of time for autosave map (set 0 to disable),
• CONTROLLER - choose the navigation controller type,

🤖 Step 4: Running Navigation & Mapping

1. Connect to the ROSbot.

   ssh husarion@rosbotxl
   cd rosbot-xl-autonomy

   [!NOTE] rosbotxl is the name of device set in Husarnet.

2. Flashing the ROSbot's firmware.

   To flash the Micro-ROS based firmware for STM32F4 microcontroller responsible for low-level functionalities of ROSbot XL, execute in the ROSbot's shell:

   just flash-firmware
   # or "just flash"

3. Running autonomy on ROSbot.

   just start-rosbot
   # or "just rosbot"

🚗 Step 5: Control the ROSbot from a Web Browser

Open the Google Chrome browser on your laptop and navigate to:

http://rosbotxl:8080/ui

Note

rosbotxl is the name of device set in Husarnet.

---

Simulation

Important

To run Gazebo or Webots Simulators you have to use computer with NVIDIA GPU and the NVIDIA Container Toolkit installed.

If you don't have a physical ROSbot XL you can run this project in a simulation environment.

Select the Simulator

Gazebo

To start Gazebo simulation run:

just start-simulation gazebo
# or "just gazebo"

Webots

To start Webots simulation run:

just start-simulation webots
# or "just webots"

Open Web UI

Then open the Google Chrome browser on your laptop and navigate to: http://localhost:8080/ui