Install and setup

Cloning this Repository

To clone this repository, and all of its submodules, use the following command:

git clone --recursive git@github.com:SkyRats/sky_ws.git

1. Ardupilot

Head to the Ardupilot fork submodule and install the required dependencies.

cd sky_ws/src/sky_base/ardupilot/
Tools/environment_install/install-prereqs-ubuntu.sh -y
. ~/.profile
sudo pip3 install mavproxy

Then, set the ardupilot path on your .bashrc

echo "export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/sky_ws/src/sky_base/ardupilot/Tools/autotest" >> ~/.bashrc
echo "export PATH=/usr/lib/ccache:$PATH" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Now that Ardupilot is installed, let's install ROS Noetic

2. ROS Noetic

Follow the instructions here: http://wiki.ros.org/noetic/Installation/Ubuntu

Remember to add the source command to your bashrc file:

echo "source /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

If you already have other ROS distros, be sure to remove their source commands from the bashrc file.

3. Gazebo 11

First, uninstall other versions of Gazebo:

sudo apt remove <other-gazebo-versions>

Follow the alternative installation: https://classic.gazebosim.org/tutorials?tut=install_ubuntu&cat=install

Add a line to end of ~/.bashrc by running the following command:

echo "source /usr/share/gazebo/setup.sh" >> ~/.bashrc

4. Install Ardupilot Gazebo plugin

First, head to the the ardupilot_gazebo submodule, inside of the sky_base repository.

cd sky_ws/src/sky_base/gz_ws/src/ardupilot_gazebo

Then, build the plugin

mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j4
sudo make install

If you want to see the complete guide: https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/sitl-with-gazebo-legacy.html#sitl-with-gazebo-legacy

5. Setup Catkin Workspace

Install the following catkin tools:

sudo apt-get install python3-wstool python3-rosinstall-generator python3-catkin-lint python3-pip python3-catkin-tools
pip3 install osrf-pycommon

Then, initialize the catkin workspace:

cd ~/sky_ws
mkdir build devel log
catkin init

6. Dependencies Installation

Install mavros and mavlink from source:

cd ~/sky_ws

sudo apt-get install ros-noetic-mavros ros-noetic-mavros-extras
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mavlink/mavros/master/mavros/scripts/install_geographiclib_datasets.sh
chmod a+x install_geographiclib_datasets.sh
sudo ./install_geographiclib_datasets.sh

wstool init ~/sky_ws/src

rosinstall_generator --upstream mavros | tee /tmp/mavros.rosinstall
rosinstall_generator mavlink | tee -a /tmp/mavros.rosinstall
wstool merge -t src /tmp/mavros.rosinstall
wstool update -t src
rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src --rosdistro `echo $ROS_DISTRO` -y
sudo apt install ros-noetic-angles
sudo apt install ros-noetic-control-toolbox

catkin build

Add a line to end of ~/.bashrc by running the following command:

echo "source ~/sky_ws/devel/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc

update global variables:

source ~/.bashrc

Run the following command to tell Gazebo where to look for models:

echo "GAZEBO_MODEL_PATH=${GAZEBO_MODEL_PATH}:$HOME/sky_ws/src/sky_sim/models" >> ~/.bashrc

8. Build Instructions

Inside sky_ws, run catkin build:

cd ~/sky_ws
catkin build

Update global variables:

source ~/.bashrc

9. Usage

To test the simulation, you need at least two terminal windows:

• Run SITL:

sim_vehicle.py -v ArduCopter -f gazebo-iris --console

If the command is not found and the path can't be corrected, you might need to run the following command before running SITL:

cd ~/sky_ws/src/sky_base/ardupilot/Tools/autotest
python3 sim_vehicle.py -v ArduCopter -f gazebo-iris --console

• Launch Gazebo and ROS:

roslaunch sky_sim runway.launch

In addition, you can open QGround to test your flight simulation and RViz to visualize the camera image stream.

Working with Submodules

Submodules are, simply put, repositories within repositories. In order to work with them, say, to commit, push, pull, etc. you can't just commit to the sky_ws repository, as all the changes you've made to the submodules won't be commited - instead, you have to either commit each submodule individually, or use the following command to do all the submodules at once.

git submodule foreach <your-desired-git-command>

then, do the same command to the sky_ws repository, as you would've normally.

If you cloned this repository without the recursive flag

Just run the following commands to initialize the submodules

git submodule update --init --recursive

Running sky_ws in a docker container

This session is for people who are not running Ubuntu 20.04 as their operation system. It is still required to clone the sky_ws repository.

Install docker

Follow the installation guide from docker documentation in respect to your operating system: docker docs

Login into to docker ghcr.io

After downloading docker you will need to login. For this, you have to generate a classic token, so go to settings > developer settings > personal access tokens > Tokens (classic) and generate a token with write and delete scopes.

Next copy the token that appear in the screen and run the following command:

sudo docker login --username <your_user> --password <token> ghcr.io

Downloading a image

For downloading a docker imagame, just follow the command bellow:

sudo docker pull ghcr.io/skyrats/sky_ws:latest

Editing the run_image.bash

Using the text editor of your choice, open run_image.bash and change the following line:

--volume = "<absolute/path/to/sky_ws>:/home/sky/sky_ws"

Creating the container

Go to sky_ws directory, and just run the following command:

./run_image.bash

This may take a while if the sky_ws image is not installed. After complete, you will be prompt with a bash terminal inside the container.

Executing a existing a container

You do not need to create a different container every time you want to run the sky_ws. After creating the container, you can enter it by using the following code:

./exec_image.bash

Hints

• just typing Qground will open the QgroundControl.AppImage
• same password of sky computers

Suggestions

• Install tmux: sudo apt install tmux. Usefull if needed lots of terminal windowns