simulation/docs/setup_guide.md

Setup Guide

System Requirements

• OS: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)
• Python: 3.10.x (native to Ubuntu 22.04)
• ROS 2: Humble Hawksbill
• Gazebo: Classic 11
• RAM: 8GB minimum, 16GB recommended
• GPU: NVIDIA GPU recommended for better performance

Installation Steps

1. Install ROS 2 Humble

# Add ROS 2 repository
sudo apt update && sudo apt install curl gnupg lsb-release
sudo curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ros/rosdistro/master/ros.key -o /usr/share/keyrings/ros-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/ros-archive-keyring.gpg] http://packages.ros.org/ros2/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ros2.list > /dev/null

# Install ROS 2 Humble
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ros-humble-desktop

# Source ROS 2
echo "source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

2. Install Gazebo Classic

sudo apt install gazebo11 libgazebo11-dev ros-humble-gazebo-ros-pkgs

3. Install ArduPilot SITL

# Clone ArduPilot
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot.git
cd ardupilot
git submodule update --init --recursive

# Install dependencies
Tools/environment_install/install-prereqs-ubuntu.sh -y
. ~/.profile

# Build SITL
./waf configure --board sitl
./waf copter

4. Install ardupilot_gazebo Plugin

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot_gazebo.git
cd ardupilot_gazebo
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j4
sudo make install

# Add to environment
echo 'export GAZEBO_MODEL_PATH=$HOME/ardupilot_gazebo/models:$GAZEBO_MODEL_PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export GAZEBO_RESOURCE_PATH=$HOME/ardupilot_gazebo/worlds:$GAZEBO_RESOURCE_PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

5. Setup This Project

# Clone to ROS 2 workspace
cd ~/ros2_ws/src
git clone <your-repo-url> uav_ugv_simulation
cd uav_ugv_simulation

# Run automated setup
bash setup.sh

# Reload environment
source ~/.bashrc

Verification

Test ROS 2

ros2 topic list

Test Gazebo

gazebo --verbose

Test ArduPilot SITL

cd ~/ardupilot/ArduCopter
sim_vehicle.py -v ArduCopter -f gazebo-iris --console --map

Test Python Environment

cd ~/ros2_ws/src/uav_ugv_simulation
source activate_venv.sh
python -c "import cv2; import numpy; import rclpy; print('OK')"

Running the Simulation

cd ~/ros2_ws/src/uav_ugv_simulation
source activate_venv.sh
bash scripts/run_simulation.sh

NVIDIA GPU Setup (Optional)

For better Gazebo performance with NVIDIA GPU:

bash scripts/setup_gazebo_nvidia.sh

Troubleshooting

"Package not found" error

cd ~/ros2_ws
colcon build --packages-select uav_ugv_simulation
source install/setup.bash

Gazebo crashes

• Check GPU drivers: nvidia-smi
• Try software rendering: export LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

MAVROS connection failed

• Ensure ArduPilot SITL is running first
• Check port availability: lsof -i :14550