Robot Interface

Note

Instructions for interfacing with the robot using Ubuntu 20.04 and ROS Noetic.

_images/robot_interface.png

The Ethernet port at the back of the Husky can be utilized for setting up communication via LAN.

Static IP Configuration

For the first time, one needs to connect through a LAN cable to configure the robot’s WLAN network. To create a static connection in your PC (not the robots), in Ubuntu go to Settings → Network then click on + and create a new connection.

  1. Change the connection to Manual in the IPv4 settings.

  2. Set the Address IP as 192.168.131.51 and the Netmask as 24.

  3. Click save and restart your network.

After a successful connection, check the host’s local IP by typing in the Host PC’s terminal:

ifconfig

Now, ping the robot:

ping 192.168.131.1

Access the robot via SSH:

ssh -X administrator@192.168.131.1

The default password is:

mybotshop

Note

Sometimes other networks can cause disruptions when connecting to the MMP. It is best to have only your connection to the robot active and all others inactive.

Network Table

All the devices on the robot are network enabled. Table [robot_network] outlines all the devices and their network addresses.

Ridgeback network devices

Device

Network Address

Password

Ridgeback

192.168.131.1

mybotshop

Ridgeback MCU

192.168.131.2

Nvidia IP

192.168.131.4

mybotshop

UR5e IP

192.168.131.5

Hokuyo Front

192.168.131.20

Hokuyo Rear

192.168.131.21

Steamdeck

192.168.131.150

Ouster

192.168.131.22

Router

192.168.131.100

Screen Connection

An alternative for connecting to the robot is by plugging in an HDMI cable as well as a mouse and keyboard. This allows you to connect the robot from your own local network.

ROS Multimachine

To use Rviz on your pc for faster updates please setup the multimachine. By default, if you connect to the built-in router, you need only to follow the builtin router subsection.

Multimachine - Client - Builtin Router

For all the terminals in your pc, you may export these environment variables. The ros master should correspond to the robots ip where as the ros ip and ros hostname should correspond to your pc’s ip that is connected to the robot in the same network.

export ROS_MASTER_URI = http://192.168.131.1:11311/
export ROS_IP =192.168.131. < your_assigned_ip_from_router >
export ROS_HOSTNAME =192.168.131. < your_assigned_ip_from_router >

Important

Please note that you should ideally have the mmp_description and mmp_viz rospackages built on your pc so that you may view the robot over the network.

Multi Machine - Host - Custom Router

For all the terminals in the robot 4 — 5 recommended, you can export the following environment variables. The ip should correspond to the ip address of your robot which has been obtained from sudo nmtui.

export ROS_MASTER_URI =http://192.168.0.219:11311/
export ROS_IP =192.168.0.219
export ROS_HOSTNAME =192.168.0.219

Multimachine - Client - Custom Router

For all the terminals in your pc, you may export these environment variables. The ros master should correspond to the robots ip where as the ros ip and ros hostname should correspond to your pc’s ip that is connected to the robot in the same network.

export ROS_MASTER_URI =http://192.168.0.219:11311/
export ROS_IP =192.168.0.225
export ROS_HOSTNAME =192.168.0.225

Important

Please note that you should ideally have the mmp_description and mmp_viz rospackages built on your pc so that you may view the robot over the network.

Multimachine Usage

Stop the mmp service via (On the robot).

sudo service mmp stop

On the robot launch.

roslaunch mmp_startup system_startup.launch

On the users pc launch.

roslaunch mmp_viz view_robot.launch