Leo Sim Docker

Leo Rover simulation using Gazebo Garden with ROS 2 Humble in a Docker container.

Description

This repository contains the files to run a simulation of the Leo Rover using Gazebo Garden with ROS 2 Humble. Since there is no official ROS 2 simulation for the Leo ROver, this repository has been developed. It uses Docker since it makes it easy to run the simulation in any Linux based operating system. Also, it makes it easier to handle the Gazebo simulation, which is a bit more difficult to handle since the latest changes concerning Gazebo and Ignition Gazebo.

Installation

You need to have Docker installed. If this is not the case, follow the instruction from the Docker installation page for Ubuntu or use the convenience installation scripts provided by Docker:

$ curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
$ sudo sh get-docker.sh

After this, you may want to set up the environment so that you don't need to be superuser to run Docker:

$ sudo groupadd docker
$ sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
$ newgrp docker

Then, clone this repository:

$ git clone https://github.com/Dave-van-der-Meer/leorover_gazebo_sim_docker.git
$ cd leorover_gazebo_sim_docker

Then, build the Docker image using the script called docker_build.sh:

$ bash docker_build.sh

Usage

Use the script docker_run.sh script to run the image as a container. To run it, you need to be at the main directory of the repository, not inside the docker directory as otherwise the relative path to the ros2_ws will not be found properly:

$ bash docker/docker_run.sh

Debugging if the host cannot see the topics

It might happen that the host system is not seeing the topics published and subscribed to by the Gazebo bridge. The docker environment has been set up to use the same ROS_DOMAIN_ID as the host system. If the host system has no ROS_DOMAIN_ID defined, this value cannot be copied into the docker environment and as a result, the topics cannot be seen by the host.

If the ROS_DOMAIN_ID has been defined properly on the host system, and the topics are still not visible when the docker simulation is running, you might have to modify the DDS profile. For this, create a file inside your home directory inside the .ros/ directory:

$ gedit ~/.ros/fastdds.xml

Then, add the following xml configuration into this fastdds.xml file and save it.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<profiles xmlns="http://www.eprosima.com/XMLSchemas/fastRTPS_Profiles">
    <transport_descriptors>
        <transport_descriptor>
            <transport_id>UdpTransport</transport_id>
            <type>UDPv4</type>
        </transport_descriptor>
    </transport_descriptors>

    <participant profile_name="udp_transport_profile" is_default_profile="true">
        <rtps>
            <userTransports>
                <transport_id>UdpTransport</transport_id>
            </userTransports>
            <useBuiltinTransports>false</useBuiltinTransports>
        </rtps>
    </participant>
</profiles>

Next, add the following line to your .bashrc file:

export FASTRTPS_DEFAULT_PROFILES_FILE=~/.ros/fastdds.xml
export RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_fastrtps_cpp

With these configurations, the topics should be visible on the host system.

Roadmap

The goal is to make this work in an simulated (and simplified) lunar environment as standalone Gazebo simulation that interfaces with ROS 2 Humble. The idea is to use this as a baseline for SLAM and navigation tasks for educational purposes.

License

MIT license.

Project status

First version can be considered ready. Some cleaning up might be necessary and the rover is not turning very well. Needs some tuning. Suggestions are welcome.