Quick The following is a quick guide for setting up the Pioneer LX onboard machine if one needs to reinstall the OS. The same guide applies if setting up your own PC to run the MobileSim simulator offline. This includes setting up the ARIA and ARNL libraries and setting up ROS and dependencies.

Linux Ubuntu 16.04

The Pioneer LX onboard computer is currently running Linux Xubuntu 16.04.

Installing MobileRobots software

More detailed description to come

1. Download MobileRobots software from Box (used to be available on MobileRobots web page, but the website has been shut down):
   
   • ARIA
   • ARNL (required for ros-arnl)
   • MobileSim
2. Add ARIA and ARNL to the filesystem
3. On your PC:
   
   1. Install MobileEyes if you wish to use this software while running arnlServer (included in ARNL) on the Pioneer LX.
   2. Install MobileSIm if you want to run a simulator of the Pioneer LX on your computer.

Before reinstalling the OS:

• Backup all modified files, scripts, code and maps and upload updated versions to Github.

During installation:

• You can install a new OS from a USB like you would on any regular personal computer.
• DO NOT use and dashes (-) in the username or password. If you do this you will not be able to use MobileEyes with the Cyborg. There might be other symbols MobileEyes will not accept, so be smart when choosing username and password.
• You should select automatic login without password. If you do not do this you will need to (a) connect a keyboard (and monitor) whenever you start the Pioneer LX or (b) write a configuration file in the OS for this.

Install the MobileRobots libraries (ARIA)

To install ARIA correctly, go to ROSARIA and follow the guide "Installation and getting started".

We use ros-arnl in the state machine. ros-arnl requires ARIA, ARNL and ArnlBase. These MobileRobots libraries can be downloaded as .deb files from Box:

• ARIA is a must. Aria is used for communication with onboard sensors and actuators.
• ARNL is used for laser navigation using arnlServer or ros-arnl (used by the state machine). If you plan to do any navigation, you need these files (and they must be the same version):
  
  • Arnl: libarnl_1.9.2a+ubuntu16_amd64.deb
  • ArnlBase: arnl-base_1.9.2+ubuntu16_amd64.deb

Install the .deb files after downloading.

If the above does not work: an Arnl.tar.gz file is also on Box. This file is the Arnl folder copied directly from the Pioneer LX install. This folder has the necessary arnl and arnlBase files. The Arnl folder should be copied to the following path: /usr/local/Arnl/

ROS Kinetic setup and install script

...

Robot Operating System (ROS) version ROS Kinetic (requires Ubuntu 16.04) is installed on the Pioneer LX.

...

For more information on setting up ROS kinetic, see ROS Kinetic installation.

Quick pointers

There is a good chance that someone will need to re-install the OS of the robot base in the future. If you for some reason need to re-install the OS on the Pioneer LX, there is a few critical things to remember:

• DO NOT use and dashes (-) in the username or password. If you do this you will not be able to use MobileEyes with the Cyborg. There might be other symbols MobileEyes will not accept, so be smart when choosing username and password.
• During the installation process you should select automatic login without password. If you do not do this you will need to use a keyboard whenever you start the Cyborg or write a configuration file in the OS for this.
• The startup script for the startup box must be added to the list of programs that start automatically on startup.
• For Aria to be able to connect to the peripherals you must make one specific Aria file and give your Ubuntu user access to the dialout.
• Dependencies and programs must be installed.
• To state the obvious: make backups of all modified files, scripts, code and maps and place them in the same location.

You can install a new OS from a USB like you would on any regular personal computer.

...

MobileSim and RVIZ

• Install MobileSIm if you want to run a simulator of the Pioneer LX on your computer.
• Follow this guide to install RVIZ.

Startup box: make the startup script auto-run at login

This must be done on the Pioneer LX for the startup box to work properly. Small changes to the procedure may be needed for other Ubuntu versions. For Xubuntu 16.04 the following proceedure works:

1. Open the Settings Manager.
2. Go to the Session and Startup configuration.
3. Under the sub-menu Application Autostart you can add and configure what applications and scripts will run at start.
4. The startup script I created is added under the name start script. The command I used can be found below.

The Correct Command Entry

I wanted the script to run in a new terminal window so it would be easier to terminate it. If it is not launched in a terminal window, we would have to use a process manager like Htop to terminate the script in stead of just closing the terminal. To run the script in a new terminal I enter the following command in the command entry for the start script discussed above:

xfce4-terminal --command "python /home/cyborg/start_scripts/start.py"

Add User to Dialout

For Aria to be able to connect to the peripherals you must make one specific Aria file and give your Ubuntu user access to the dialout.

Use the following command, but change MyUser <MyUser> to the user name of the Cyborg’s Ubuntu user:

sudo adduser MyUser <MyUser> dialout