Installing ARIAC

Requirements

ARIAC 2023 is built for ROS2 Galactic running on Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa).

• See the ROS2 Galactic installation instructions for more information.

Cloning the ARIAC Repository

• Create a new ROS2 workspace:

  source /opt/ros/galactic/setup.bash
  mkdir -p ~/ariac_ws/src
  cd ~/ariac_ws
  

• Clone the ARIAC repository:

  git clone https://github.com/usnistgov/ARIAC.git src/ariac
  

  Note: Always use the ariac2023 branch.

• Install the dependencies:

  sudo apt install python3-rosdep
  sudo apt install openjdk-17-jdk
  sudo rosdep init
  rosdep update --include-eol-distros
  rosdep install --from-paths src -y --ignore-src
  

  Note

  • openjdk-17-jdk is required to install the Java 17 JDK for the human challenge.

  • If you are using a virtual machine, you may need to install the python3-vcstool package.

Building the ARIAC Package

• Build the ARIAC package:

  sudo apt install python3-colcon-common-extensions
  colcon build --packages-select ariac
  

• Source the workspace:

  source install/setup.bash
  

  Note: You may want to add the following line to your ~/.bashrc file: source ~/ariac_ws/install/setup.bash

Starting the ARIAC Simulator

There are mainly two ways to start the ARIAC simulator.

Default Configuration

The following command starts ARIAC with the default configuration:

ros2 launch ariac_gazebo ariac.launch.py

• The default trial file is kitting.yaml, located in ariac_gazebo/config/trials/

  • Note: All trial files must be placed in this folder.

• The default sensor configuration is sensors.yaml, located in test_competitor/config/

Custom Configuration

• To start ARIAC with a different trial, use the following command:

  ros2 launch ariac_gazebo ariac.launch.py trial_name:=<trial_file>
  

  Replace <trial_file> with the name of a trial file (without the .yaml extension). Reminder: This trial file MUST be placed in ariac_gazebo/config/trials/.

  Example: To start ARIAC with assembly.yaml trial file, run the following command:

  ros2 launch ariac_gazebo ariac.launch.py trial_name:=assembly
  

• Competitors will need to create their own competitor package and use their own sensor configuration file.

  • To create a new competitor package, see tutorial 1.

  • To use a custom sensor configuration file, create a directory named config in your competitor package and place your sensor configuration file in that directory.

    • Below is an example of competitor package structure with a custom sensor configuration file named my_sensors.yaml.

    my_competitor_pkg
    ├── CMakeLists.txt
    ├── package.xml
    └── config
        └── my_sensors.yaml
    

  • Make sure to edit CMakelists.txt in your competitor package to include the config directory.

    install(DIRECTORY config
        DESTINATION share/${PROJECT_NAME}/
    )
    

  • Start ARIAC with a custom trial and with a custom sensor configuration file by running the following command:

    ros2 launch ariac_gazebo ariac.launch.py competitor_pkg:=<package> sensor_config:=<sensor_file> trial_name:=<trial_file>
    

    Example: To start ARIAC with assembly.yaml using my_sensors.yaml sensor configuration file (located in my_competitor_pkg/config), run the following command:

    ros2 launch ariac_gazebo ariac.launch.py competitor_pkg:=my_competitor_pkg sensor_config:=my_sensors trial_name:=assembly
    

Moving the Robots

To verify that the robots can be controlled properly you will need three terminals:

• terminal 1: Start the environment.

  ros2 launch ariac_gazebo ariac.launch.py
  

• terminal 2: Start the moveit node.

  ros2 launch ariac_moveit_config ariac_robots_moveit.launch.py
  

• terminal 3: Start the moveit test node.

  ros2 launch test_competitor moveit_test.launch.py
  

This should start the competition and move each of the robots to the home position. It will also open an RVIZ window showing the robot’s planning scene.

Running the Test Competitor

A test competitor has been created to demonstrate how to complete some of the basic functions (no challenges) of working with the ARIAC environment. The test competitor has been tested with kitting.yaml, assembly.yaml, combined.yaml, :class: kitting_assembly.yaml, and kitting_combined.yaml. There is no guarantee that the test competitor will work with other trials as the goal of the test competitor is to demonstrate how to interface with the ARIAC environment.

The test competitor is located in the test_competitor package. To run the test competitor, use the following commands:

• terminal 1: Start the environment.

  ros2 launch ariac_gazebo ariac.launch.py trial_name:=<trial_file>
  

• terminal 2: Start the MoveIt node.

  ros2 launch ariac_moveit_config ariac_robots_moveit.launch.py
  

• terminal 3: Start the competitor node.

  ros2 launch test_competitor competitor.launch.py
  

The test competitor will start the competition, subscribe to camera and orders topics, and complete orders.