RDC_Simulation/docs/installation.md

Installation Guide

System Requirements

• OS: Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 (Windows users: use WSL2)
• RAM: 8GB minimum, 16GB recommended
• Disk: 10GB free space
• GPU: Any GPU with OpenGL 3.3+ support

Quick Install (Ubuntu)

# Clone repository
git clone <repo-url> RDC_Simulation
cd RDC_Simulation

# Run installer (includes ArduPilot)
./setup/install_ubuntu.sh --with-ardupilot

# Reload shell
source ~/.bashrc

This installs:

• Python 3 + virtual environment
• Gazebo Harmonic
• ArduPilot SITL
• ArduPilot Gazebo plugin
• MAVProxy

Windows (WSL2)

Step 1: Install WSL2

Open PowerShell as Administrator:

wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04

Restart computer, then open Ubuntu from Start menu.

Step 2: Install in WSL

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Clone and install
git clone <repo-url> ~/RDC_Simulation
cd ~/RDC_Simulation
./setup/install_ubuntu.sh --with-ardupilot

# Reload
source ~/.bashrc

WSL2 Tips

• GUI Apps: Windows 11 has WSLg built-in. Gazebo should work automatically.
• GPU: Install NVIDIA WSL driver from nvidia.com/wsl
• Access Windows files: /mnt/c/Users/YourName/
• Performance: Clone repo to Linux filesystem (not /mnt/c/)

macOS

macOS doesn't support Gazebo Harmonic natively. Options:

1. Docker (recommended): Use Linux container
2. VM: Use UTM or Parallels with Ubuntu
3. Standalone: Run PyBullet-only simulation

# Install basic dependencies
./setup/install_macos.sh

# Use standalone simulation
python standalone_simulation.py

Arch Linux

./setup/install_arch.sh --with-ardupilot
source ~/.bashrc

Verify Installation

# Check ArduPilot
source ~/venv-ardupilot/bin/activate
python -c "import em; print('empy OK')"
sim_vehicle.py --help

# Check Gazebo
gz sim --version
ls ~/ardupilot_gazebo/build/libArduPilotPlugin.so

Post-Installation

Environment Setup

The installer creates activate.sh in the project root:

cd ~/RDC_Simulation
source activate.sh

This sources:

• ROS 2 (if installed)
• ArduPilot virtual environment
• Gazebo paths

First Run

# Terminal 1: Start Gazebo
./scripts/run_ardupilot_sim.sh runway

# Terminal 2: Start SITL (after Gazebo loads)
source ~/venv-ardupilot/bin/activate
sim_vehicle.py -v ArduCopter -f gazebo-iris --model JSON --console

# Terminal 3: Run controller
source ~/venv-ardupilot/bin/activate
cd ~/RDC_Simulation
python scripts/run_ardupilot.py --pattern square

Troubleshooting

"empy not found"

source ~/venv-ardupilot/bin/activate
pip install empy==3.3.4

"No JSON sensor message"

SITL isn't receiving data from Gazebo.

• Start Gazebo FIRST
• Wait for it to fully load
• Then start SITL

"sim_vehicle.py not found"

source ~/.ardupilot_env
# OR
export PATH=$PATH:~/ardupilot/Tools/autotest

Gazebo crashes / slow

# Check GPU
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

# Try software rendering (slow but works)
export LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1
gz sim -v4 -r ~/ardupilot_gazebo/worlds/iris_runway.sdf

WSL: Display not working

# Check WSLg
ls /mnt/wslg

# If missing, update WSL
wsl --update