[Solved] [ROSBot 2.0 Pro] [ROS2 Foxy] Getting started - can I trust old docs?]

[atamar]

Hello

I’ve received a ROSBot with Ubuntu 20.04 and ROS2 Foxy preinstalled, and am trying to take some tiny first steps. I’m following this part of the manual, but since it’s a bit old, would like ask a bunch of questions to make sure I’m on track.

Q: firmware.
There is ~husarion/firmware.bin, and it looks to be version 0.14.2. (It is already running on the CORE2.) The FW file for Pro/ROS2 doesn’t contain that version string and is targeted for Dashing.
Should I be installing the Dashing FW? (Are Foxy and Dashing targets compatible?) If not, should I find a similar FW built for Foxy, as opposed to the 0.14.2 that is onboard?

(Edit: the rest of the links not hyper due to forum spam filter - sorry… Please replace _ with dot in URLs below.)

Q: dds_bridge and MicroXRCEAgent
There is no trace on the system (/opt/ros/foxy/, ~/husarion_ws/) of dds_bridge. Is it still relevant? (I know that there have been some changes in the ROS2 DDS provider.)
I’ve installed MicroXRCEAgent from source (github_com/eProsima/Micro-XRCE-DDS-Agent) and am preparing to copy dds_bridge (github_com/husarion/dds_bridge) to ~/husarion_ws and install that (rosdep install, colcon build, …), but the above question came to mind before I got there.

Q: Running ros2 launch rosbot_description rosbot_pro.launch.py
I admit I tried running this without dds_bridge already. It fails with a Python error stating that rosserial_node.py (github_com/husarion/rosbot_description/blob/foxy/scripts/rosserial_node.py) wasn’t found in the library (it was present, symlinked under the dir mentioned in the error).
This is all a bit short on detail, I will expand on this later when I have the other steps resolved - mentioning now in case this is already a known issue.

I’d appreciate any input/confirmation/correction of any of these.
Thank you for your efforts!

[Hubert_Zwiercan]

Hi atamar,

I’m sorry for confusing info in our documentation, but it’s not up to date, because release of new ROS2 image was a few days ago we’re still working on changes. Release are planned for today or tomorrow.

Both images for ROS and ROS2 using now the same firmware.

MicroXRCEAgent are no longer using in ROS2 images.

To start communication between MCU and SBC you need only one command (it also shows firmware version in console logs):

ros2 launch rosbot_description rosbot_pro.launch.py 

You said that results of this command is some error. Could you share output with me?

Fell free to ask me any question regarding ROSbot and ROS2 image. You are one of the first user of this software version, so your feedback will be very helpful in the process of creation updates.

I hope after documentation update everything will be clear

Best regards,
Hubert Zwiercan
Husarion team

[atamar]

Thank you for confirming that. I will add ROS2 output here as soon as possible. I’m however stuck at boot for now - no HDMI signal, even with boot USB and ESC at boot. The UPboard is not joining the wireless network like it did before, so I think it’s not starting up properly; pressing reset during power-on doesn’t do anything new either. (Pressing ESC during boot changes the end result in that LR2 will remain burning, otherwise I will have steady light on Power and L1. Reset during turning on did the same at least once.)

I had power-up without HDMI output once last week; a restart fixed it then. Now multiple restarts are not doing anything. Any pointers?

Thank you…

[Hubert_Zwiercan]

Hi Erik,

It’s quite strange.

Please try to turn off ROSbot. Put inside batteries and plug in battery charger and set charging as it’s described in this manual https://husarion.com/manuals/rosbot/#charging-rosbot.

After some time (depending on the current charge level of the batteries) charging will stop and will inform you about it with a sound signal.

One more time plug in display to HDMI port and keyboard to USB and try to open BIOS during the startup (press Esc in first startup stage)

Please let me know is it possible to enter BIOS.

Best regards,
Hubert

[atamar]

I recharged and tried a boot as requested. Same results: no HDMI (to be accurate, the monitor goes from unplugged “no signal” to “hdmi power saving mode”). No BIOS access. When booting with esc (or any other key) pressed, the bot ends up with LEDs PWR and LR2 burning:

When booting without key press, ends up with PWR and L1 burning.

I’ll mention that I have verified that monitor and HDMI cable work with an RPi sitting next to the bot. Also, I encountered this boot situation once previously a few days ago; that time I power cycled and got console back up OK. And, also - I’ve recharged the batteries 2 times after initial charge now, and I’ve been surprised at the charge they’ve required. I haven’t run the bot on battery power almost at all yet.

What would you suggest next? Should I look into a CMOS battery reset on the UPboard? Any other diagnostics I could provide?

[atamar]

To not leave this latter problem open: solved with the help of Husarion folks. Looks like there was an actual HDMI hardware problem on the Upboard side of things, resolved by swapping the unit.

Thanks Hubert!

[Hubert_Zwiercan]