Software Setup

Compatible Models

The ROS Interface packages can be used with any of the Interbotix LoCoBot kits listed below. Next to each name is the codename used to describe it in software (specifically for the robot_model argument in launch files) and a description. There are up to four parts in a name. The first word locobot specifies that the robot is a type of rover. The next two letters represent model type (ex. wx for ‘WidowX’). The number afterwards (ex. 200) corresponds to the length of both the arm’s forearm and upper-arm links in millimeters. Finally, the s after some numbers signifies if that arm has six degrees of freedom. If the robot has base in it, that means that it has no arm.

Models
Model Name and Store Link Robot Documentation Codename
LoCoBot Base LoCoBot Base Documentation locobot_base
LoCoBot PX100 LoCoBot PX100 Documentation locobot_px100
LoCoBot WX200 LoCoBot WX200 Documentation locobot_wx200
LoCoBot WX250 6DOF LoCoBot WX250 6DOF Documentation locobot_wx250s
  • LoCoBot Base Robot Rover (locobot_base): equipped with a Kobuki mobile base, a RealSense D435 Depth camera on a DYNAMIXEL pan-tilt servo, and a NUC Intel Computer, this rover is ready to perform some serious navigation and mapping tasks. For even more flexibility, the RPLidar A2M8 laser scanner can be added as well.
  • LoCoBot PincherX 100 Robot Rover (locobot_px100): with all the features of the locobot_base platform, this robot steps it up a notch by including the 4dof PincherX-100 Interbotix Arm. Now officially a mobile-manipulator, this rover can perform manipulation tasks in addition to navigating/mapping an environment.
  • LoCoBot WidowX 200 Robot Rover (locobot_wx200): similar in structure to the locobot_px100 robot, this platform substitutes the PincherX 100 arm with the 5dof WidowX-200 Interbotix Arm. With longer range, a higher payload capacity, and an extra degree of freedom, this rover makes your manipulation tasks easier to perform.
  • LoCoBot WidowX 250 6DOF Robot Rover (locobot_wx250s): similar in structure to the locobot_wx200 rover, this platform substitutes the WidowX 200 arm with the 6dof WidowX-250 6DOF Interbotix Arm. With even longer range, a higher payload capacity, and yet another degree of freedom, this platform raises the bar on research mobile-manipulators.

Requirements

Below is a list of the hardware you will need to get started:

  • Keyboard, mouse, HDMI monitor, and HDMI cable
  • One of the X-Series LoCoBot Kits mentioned above
  • Computer running Ubuntu Linux 18.04 or 20.04

Software Installation

Note

Terminology:

  • “Remote” - Your own personal computer (desktop, laptop, etc.)
  • “Robot” or “LoCoBot” - The NUC computer on the LoCoBot

To get all the code setup, refer to the computer platform types below (currently only one option, but this may change in the future) and run the appropriate installation script. Afterwards, continue with the Installation Checks sub-section.

AMD64 Architecture

If you purchased a NUC-based ROS LoCoBot from our website, note that it comes pre-installed with Ubuntu Desktop image (20.04) already on it. After powering it on via the steps in the previous section, a login screen should appear with locobot as the user name. Conveniently, the password is the same as the user name so type locobot and hit Enter. Next, update the computer by performing the following steps.

  1. Connect to the Internet. This is as simple as clicking the Wifi icon on the top right of the Desktop and selecting your desired network.

  2. Press Ctrl-Alt-T to open a terminal screen, and type sudo apt update.

  3. After the process completes, type sudo apt -y upgrade. It might take a few minutes for the computer to upgrade.

  4. Finally, type sudo apt -y autoremove to get rid of unnecessary software packages. Then close out of the terminal and reboot the computer.

  5. Once rebooted, login and open up a terminal as before. Instead of manually installing all the software needed for the robot, you will download and run an installation script. Follow the commands below to get started! Note that nothing (camera, RPLidar, Kobuki, U2D2) needs to be connected to the computer for the installation to work.

    $ sudo apt install curl
$ curl 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Interbotix/interbotix_ros_rovers/main/interbotix_ros_xslocobots/install/amd64/xslocobot_amd64_install.sh' > xslocobot_amd64_install.sh
$ chmod +x xslocobot_amd64_install.sh
$ ./xslocobot_amd64_install.sh

  6. Once the script is done, shutdown the computer, and remove the HDMI cable, keyboard, and mouse. Replug any sensors into the computer that were unplugged initially. Then turn the computer on again by pressing the power button.

Remote Install

For some robotic projects, you may want to run your robot in a ‘headless’ state on some computer (like a NUC or Raspberry Pi), and monitor the robot’s state (in RViz for example) on your personal (a.k.a remote) computer over a local network. For this to work, run the installation script below on your personal computer running Linux Ubuntu 18.04 or 20.04. As an FYI, the script will prompt you to insert the hostname of the robot (NOT the remote) computer. As an example, if you wanted to monitor the state of a NUC-based locobot, you would set the hostname to locobot. To find out the hostname of the robot computer, just open a terminal and type hostname.

Note

ROS and RViz must already be installed on your local machine for the remote install to be successful.

$ sudo apt install curl
$ curl 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Interbotix/interbotix_ros_rovers/main/interbotix_ros_xslocobots/install/xslocobot_remote_install.sh' > xslocobot_remote_install.sh
$ chmod +x xslocobot_remote_install.sh
$ ./xslocobot_remote_install.sh

Be aware that the installation script will export the ROS_MASTER_URI environment variable in your personal computer’s ~/.bashrc file to http://<hostname>.local:11311. Make sure to comment out this line when done monitoring or your personal computer will complain about not being able to find its ROS Master.

To SSH from your remote to the robot computer, first connect your personal Linux computer to the same network to which the locobot is connected. Then open a terminal and SSH into the locobot by typing (assuming a NUC-based locobot)…

$ ssh -X locobot@locobot.local

You will be prompted for a password - just type locobot and you should be in!

The -X flag in the command above allows window forwarding. This means that it’s possible to open small graphical applications on the locobot computer which will be forwarded to your personal computer. Let’s open the terminal application by…

$ gnome-terminal &

Note

Sometimes the command above doesn’t work to open new terminals. An alternate solution is to use the command found in this StackExchange answer:

$ /usr/bin/dbus-launch /usr/bin/gnome-terminal &

Now, we can open up new terminals (via Ctrl-Shift-T) on the locobot computer without having to SSH each time. Note that unless otherwise stated, all the following commands should be executed in the new terminal window that pops up.

Installation Checks

Note

These sensors should be plugged back in and turned on at this point if they’re not already.

After running the installation script on the robot computer, verify that it was successful in finding the U2D2, Kobuki, and Lidar (if applicable) by checking that the port names show up as ttyDXL, kobuki, and rplidar (if applicable) respectively.

$ ls /dev | grep ttyDXL
ttyDXL
$ ls /dev | grep kobuki
kobuki
$ ls /dev | grep rplidar    # if applicable
rplidar

Verify that the RealSense camera can be found by typing rs-enumerate-devices -S in the terminal. The output should give info about the type of RealSense camera that is plugged in. Note that the camera should be plugged back in at this point if it’s not already.

Next Steps

If the ROS Interface installed properly, you can continue on to the ROS Interface Quickstart Guide.

Troubleshooting

Refer to the X-Series Troubleshooting Guide to try to solve your problem. If you still need help, feel free to open an Issue on the ros_rovers repo. We strongly recommend the latter option though so that other people who may be facing the same difficulty can benefit. This repository is actively maintained and any open Issues will be addressed as soon as possible.

Video Tutorial