convoy

This is a ROS package for controlling both simulated and real F1Tenth vehicles that will be used to test and evaluate convoy algorithms.

We will be using ROS2 for this project. For now, we will use the Foxy distribution. Make sure your workspace is called cvy_ws. To set up a workspace:

mkdir -p ~/cvy_ws/src/
cd ~/cvy_ws/src/
git clone --recurse-submodules [email protected]:RIVeR-Lab/convoy.git
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/f1tenth/f1tenth_system.git
git clone https://github.com/Slamtec/sllidar_ros2.git
cd ~/cvy_ws/
rosdep install -i --from-path src --rosdistro foxy -y
colcon build

Follow the same instructions as from the build/setup instructions for the vehicles to assign static IP addresses for a computer/laptop. The vehicles will be numbered in order starting from 100, i.e., the first vehicle we set up will have IP address 192.168.1.100. Computers that are given static IP addresses will start at 200. So far, the RIVeR-Patuxent laptop is 192.168.1.200 and the RIVeR-Patapsco desktop is 192.168.1.201.

Bringing up the vehicle(s) on hardware

Make sure all of the below instructions and build instructions have been followed (except for the simulation stuff). Then, for example, if you are using vehicle 4 with a DS4 controller, run:

source-vehicle 4
ros2 launch convoy_ros rplidar_ds4.launch.py vehicle_number:=4

Simulation

To launch the f1tenth simulator, first make sure you have followed all of the installation instructions at f1tenth_gym_ros. Make sure you properly install Docker (including post-installation steps), nvidia-docker2, and rocker.

It is recommended to configure some dot files to make coding in a terminal or a docker container easier. For example, to use Michael's dot files:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/michael-shaham/dot-files.git
cd dot-files
source .bashrc
update-dot-files

To launch the simulator, we assume we have already set up a workspace called cvy_ws which contains the convoy package.

cd ~/cvy_ws/src/convoy/
sudo docker build -t convoy -f Dockerfile .
sudo rocker --nvidia --x11 --volume .:/sim_ws/src/ --volume /home/$(echo $USER)/dot-files/:/root/ -- convoy

Note that the dot-files volume is optional. I use my dot-files in the container for better readability/code-editing in vim/tmux.

Vehicle setup notes

If you are setting up a vehicle, make sure you closely follow the directions on the F1Tenth build site (for ROS2, don't use the ROS1 build directions). If the vehicle you are building is using the RPLiDAR S2 instead of the Hokuyo, do the following to set up the udev rules:

sudo vim /etc/udev/rules.d/99-rplidar-s2.rules

and then paste in the following:

KERNEL=="ttyACM[0-9]*", ACTION=="add", ATTRS{idVendor}=="10c4", MODE="0666", GROUP="dialout", SYMLINK+="sensors/rplidar-s2"

You have to reboot for the changes to take effect. After installing ROS2, run the following to set up the workspace:

mkdir ~/cvy_ws/src && cd ~/cvy_ws/src
git clone [email protected]:RIVeR-Lab/convoy_ros.git
git clone [email protected]:Slamtec/sllidar_ros2.git
cd ~/cvy_ws/
colcon build --symlink-install

You only have to use symlink-install the first time you build the sllidar_s2 package.

To launch the LiDAR with visualization to test it, make sure you have everything sourced properly, and then run:

ros2 launch sllidar_ros2 view_sllidar_s2_launch.py 

If you run into the issue of not being able to see the LiDAR output, make sure the user is in the dialout group, i.e.,

sudo adduser $USER dialout

and then log out and back in for the change to take effect.

Teleop information

human_control/teleop button: L1

autonomous_control button: R1

Note that these buttons act as a dead man's switch, i.e., if you let go of the button, the robot (should) stop. The left joystick is used for controlling the vehicle.

For teleop, the left joystick (up/down) controls the speed and the right joystick (left/right) controls the steering angle.

Some useful USB commands

lsusb allows you to see connected USB devices. To figure out where a device is connected, run lsusb without the device plugged in, and then plug in the device and run again.

usb-devices lists all of the USB devices with more information including the vendor ID and product ID which are needed for creating symbolic links to the device.

dmesg | less and then hitting / and searching for keywords (like the product ID or vendor ID) can also be useful.

Convenient dot files

Finally, Michael has some dot files that are nice for bash/vim/tmux. Do not use these if you are not comfortable with vim. Copy parts of the .bashrc to your own .bashrc as needed (like the sourcing or pulling shortcuts).

cd ~/Documents/
git clone [email protected]:michael-shaham/dot-files.git
cd dot-files
source .bashrc
update-dot-files

With this, we can then source the vehicle and correctly set the ROS_DOMAIN_ID using the command:

source-vehicle <vehicle_number>

where vehicle_number is the number we assign to the vehicle (i.e., if the vehicle is the 5th one set up and has IP 192.168.1.104, then replace vehicle_number with 4).

Connect PS4 DS4 using Bluetooth via the command line

Find Bluetooth devices using the command

hcitool dev

This will return a device name and a MAC address. To find Bluetooth devices in range, run

hcitool -i <dev_name> scan

where dev_name is likely hci0. The Playstation 4 Dualshock 4 controller will be called Wireless Controller. Note the MAC address for this device, and then trust and connect to the device using the following commands:

bluetoothctl  # enters you into some terminal environment
trust <MAC_address>
connect <MAC_address>

Map caps lock to esc/ctrl

Easier method is to use the Gnome Tweaks tool.

sudo apt install gnome-tweaks

Then hit the super (Windows) key and search for Tweaks and open it. Go to the Keyboard & Mouse section, hit Additional Layout Options, then Caps Lock behavior and select Make Caps Lock an additional Esc.

Another option is to use keyd, as described below. This is copied from the keyd GitHub page.

git clone https://github.com/rvaiya/keyd
cd keyd
make && sudo make install
sudo systemctl enable keyd && sudo systemctl start keyd
sudo vim /etc/keyd/default.conf

Paste

[ids]

*

[main]

# Maps capslock to escape when (double?) pressed and control when held.
capslock = overload(control, esc)

into the default.conf file. Then run

sudo systemctl restart keyd

one more time.