# Testing with DDS/micro-Ros ## Architecture Ardupilot contains the DDS Client library, which can run as SITL. Then, the DDS application runs a ROS 2 node, an eProsima Integration Service, and the MicroXRCE Agent. The two systems communicate over serial or UDP. ```mermaid --- title: UDP Loopback --- graph LR subgraph Linux Computer subgraph Ardupilot SITL veh[sim_vehicle.py] <--> xrceClient[EProsima Micro XRCE DDS Client] xrceClient <--> port1[udp:2019] end subgraph DDS Application ros[ROS 2 Node] <--> agent[Micro ROS Agent] agent <-->port1[udp:2019] end loopback end ``` ```mermaid --- title: Hardware Serial Port Loopback --- graph LR subgraph Linux Computer subgraph Ardupilot SITL veh[sim_vehicle.py] <--> xrceClient[EProsima Micro XRCE DDS Client] xrceClient <--> port1[devUSB1] end subgraph DDS Application ros[ROS 2 Node] <--> agent[Micro ROS Agent] agent <--> port2[devUSB2] end port1 <--> port2 end ``` ## Installing Build Dependencies While DDS support in Ardupilot is mostly through git submodules, another tool needs to be available on your system: Micro XRCE DDS Gen. - Go to a directory on your system to clone the repo (perhaps next to `ardupilot`) - Install java ```console sudo apt install default-jre ```` - Follow instructions [here](https://micro-xrce-dds.docs.eprosima.com/en/latest/installation.html#installing-the-micro-xrce-dds-gen-tool) to install the latest version of the generator using Ardupilot's mirror ```console git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/ardupilot/Micro-XRCE-DDS-Gen.git cd Micro-XRCE-DDS-Gen ./gradlew assemble ``` - Add the generator directory to $PATH. ```console # Add this to ~/.bashrc export PATH=$PATH:/your/path/to/Micro-XRCE-DDS-Gen/scripts ``` - Test it ```console cd /path/to/ardupilot microxrceddsgen -version # openjdk version "11.0.18" 2023-01-17 # OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 11.0.18+10-post-Ubuntu-0ubuntu122.04) # OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 11.0.18+10-post-Ubuntu-0ubuntu122.04, mixed mode, sharing) # microxrceddsgen version: 1.0.0beta2 ``` > :warning: **If you have installed FastDDS or FastDDSGen globally on your system**: eProsima's libraries and the packaging system in Ardupilot are not deterministic in this scenario. You may experience the wrong version of a library brought in, or runtime segfaults. For now, avoid having simultaneous local and global installs. If you followed the [global install](https://fast-dds.docs.eprosima.com/en/latest/installation/sources/sources_linux.html#global-installation) section, you should remove it and switch to local install. ### Serial Only: Set up serial for SITL with DDS On Linux, creating a virtual serial port will be necessary to use serial in SITL, because of that install socat. ``` sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install socat ``` ## Setup ardupilot for SITL with DDS Set up your [SITL](https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/setting-up-sitl-on-linux.html). Run the simulator with the following command. If using UDP, the only parameter you need to set it `DDS_ENABLE`. | Name | Description | Default | | - | - | - | | DDS_ENABLE | Set to 1 to enable DDS, or 0 to disable | 1 | | SERIAL1_BAUD | The serial baud rate for DDS | 57 | | SERIAL1_PROTOCOL | Set this to 45 to use DDS on the serial port | 0 | ```console # Wipe params till you see "AP: ArduPilot Ready" # Select your favorite vehicle type sim_vehicle.py -w -v ArduPlane --console -DG --enable-dds # Only set this for Serial, which means 115200 baud param set SERIAL1_BAUD 115 # See libraries/AP_SerialManager/AP_SerialManager.h AP_SerialManager SerialProtocol_DDS_XRCE param set SERIAL1_PROTOCOL 45 ``` DDS is currently enabled by default, if it's part of the build. To disable it, run the following and reboot the simulator. ``` param set DDS_ENABLE 0 REBOOT ``` ## Setup ROS 2 and micro-ROS Follow the steps to use the microROS Agent - Install ROS Humble (as described here) - https://docs.ros.org/en/humble/Installation/Ubuntu-Install-Debians.html - Install geographic_msgs ```console sudo apt install ros-humble-geographic-msgs ``` - Install and run the microROS agent (as described here). Make sure to use the `humble` branch. - Follow [the instructions](https://micro.ros.org/docs/tutorials/core/first_application_linux/) for the following: - Do "Installing ROS 2 and the micro-ROS build system" - Skip the docker run command, build it locally instead - Skip "Creating a new firmware workspace" - Skip "Building the firmware" - Do "Creating the micro-ROS agent" - Source your ROS workspace ## Using the ROS 2 CLI to Read Ardupilot Data After your setups are complete, do the following: - Source the ROS 2 installation ```console source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash ``` Next, follow the associated section for your chosen transport, and finally you can use the ROS 2 CLI. ### UDP (recommended for SITL) - Run the microROS agent ```console cd ardupilot/libraries/AP_DDS ros2 run micro_ros_agent micro_ros_agent udp4 -p 2019 ``` - Run SITL (remember to kill any terminals running ardupilot SITL beforehand) ```console sim_vehicle.py -v ArduPlane -DG --console --enable-dds ``` ### Serial - Start a virtual serial port with socat. Take note of the two `/dev/pts/*` ports. If yours are different, substitute as needed. ```console socat -d -d pty,raw,echo=0 pty,raw,echo=0 >>> 2023/02/21 05:26:06 socat[334] N PTY is /dev/pts/1 >>> 2023/02/21 05:26:06 socat[334] N PTY is /dev/pts/2 >>> 2023/02/21 05:26:06 socat[334] N starting data transfer loop with FDs [5,5] and [7,7] ``` - Run the microROS agent ```console cd ardupilot/libraries/AP_DDS # assuming we are using tty/pts/2 for DDS Application ros2 run micro_ros_agent micro_ros_agent serial -b 115200 -D /dev/pts/2 ``` - Run SITL (remember to kill any terminals running ardupilot SITL beforehand) ```console # assuming we are using /dev/pts/1 for Ardupilot SITL sim_vehicle.py -v ArduPlane -DG --console --enable-dds -A "--serial1=uart:/dev/pts/1" ``` ## Use ROS 2 CLI You should be able to see the agent here and view the data output. ```bash $ ros2 node list /ardupilot_dds ``` ```bash $ ros2 topic list -v Published topics: * /ap/battery/battery0 [sensor_msgs/msg/BatteryState] 1 publisher * /ap/clock [rosgraph_msgs/msg/Clock] 1 publisher * /ap/geopose/filtered [geographic_msgs/msg/GeoPoseStamped] 1 publisher * /ap/gps_global_origin/filtered [geographic_msgs/msg/GeoPointStamped] 1 publisher * /ap/imu/experimental/data [sensor_msgs/msg/Imu] 1 publisher * /ap/navsat/navsat0 [sensor_msgs/msg/NavSatFix] 1 publisher * /ap/pose/filtered [geometry_msgs/msg/PoseStamped] 1 publisher * /ap/tf_static [tf2_msgs/msg/TFMessage] 1 publisher * /ap/time [builtin_interfaces/msg/Time] 1 publisher * /ap/twist/filtered [geometry_msgs/msg/TwistStamped] 1 publisher * /parameter_events [rcl_interfaces/msg/ParameterEvent] 1 publisher * /rosout [rcl_interfaces/msg/Log] 1 publisher Subscribed topics: * /ap/cmd_gps_pose [ardupilot_msgs/msg/GlobalPosition] 1 subscriber * /ap/cmd_vel [geometry_msgs/msg/TwistStamped] 1 subscriber * /ap/joy [sensor_msgs/msg/Joy] 1 subscriber * /ap/tf [tf2_msgs/msg/TFMessage] 1 subscriber ``` ```bash $ ros2 topic hz /ap/time average rate: 50.115 min: 0.012s max: 0.024s std dev: 0.00328s window: 52 ``` ```bash $ ros2 topic echo /ap/time sec: 1678668735 nanosec: 729410000 ``` ```bash $ ros2 service list /ap/arm_motors /ap/mode_switch --- ``` The static transforms for enabled sensors are also published, and can be received like so: ```bash ros2 topic echo /ap/tf_static --qos-depth 1 --qos-history keep_last --qos-reliability reliable --qos-durability transient_local --once ``` In order to consume the transforms, it's highly recommended to [create and run a transform broadcaster in ROS 2](https://docs.ros.org/en/humble/Concepts/About-Tf2.html#tutorials). ## Using ROS 2 services The `AP_DDS` library exposes services which are automatically mapped to ROS 2 services using appropriate naming conventions for topics and message and service types. An earlier version of `AP_DDS` required the use of the eProsima [Integration Service](https://github.com/eProsima/Integration-Service) to map the request / reply topics from DDS to ROS 2, but this is no longer required. List the available services: ```bash $ ros2 service list -t /ap/arm_motors [ardupilot_msgs/srv/ArmMotors] /ap/mode_switch [ardupilot_msgs/srv/ModeSwitch] ``` Call the arm motors service: ```bash $ ros2 service call /ap/arm_motors ardupilot_msgs/srv/ArmMotors "{arm: True}" requester: making request: ardupilot_msgs.srv.ArmMotors_Request(arm=True) response: ardupilot_msgs.srv.ArmMotors_Response(result=True) ``` Call the mode switch service: ```bash $ ros2 service call /ap/mode_switch ardupilot_msgs/srv/ModeSwitch "{mode: 4}" requester: making request: ardupilot_msgs.srv.ModeSwitch_Request(mode=4) response: ardupilot_msgs.srv.ModeSwitch_Response(status=True, curr_mode=4) ``` ## Contributing to `AP_DDS` library ### Adding DDS messages to Ardupilot Unlike the use of ROS 2 `.msg` files, since Ardupilot supports native DDS, the message files follow [OMG IDL DDS v4.2](https://www.omg.org/spec/IDL/4.2/PDF). This package is intended to work with any `.idl` file complying with those extensions. Over time, these restrictions will ideally go away. To get a new IDL file from ROS 2, follow this process: ```bash cd ardupilot source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash # Find the IDL file find /opt/ros/$ROS_DISTRO -type f -wholename \*builtin_interfaces/msg/Time.idl # Create the directory in the source tree if it doesn't exist similar to the one found in the ros directory mkdir -p libraries/AP_DDS/Idl/builtin_interfaces/msg/ # Copy the IDL cp /opt/ros/humble/share/builtin_interfaces/msg/Time.idl libraries/AP_DDS/Idl/builtin_interfaces/msg/ # Build the code again with the `--enable-dds` flag as described above ``` If the message is custom for ardupilot, first create the ROS message in `Tools/ros2/ardupilot_msgs/msg/GlobalPosition.msg`. Then, build ardupilot_msgs with colcon. Finally, copy the IDL folder from the install directory into the source tree. ### Rules for adding topics and services Topics and services available from `AP_DDS` are automatically mapped into ROS 2 provided a few rules are followed when defining the entries in the topic and service tables. #### ROS 2 message and service interface types ROS 2 message and interface definitions are mangled by the `rosidl_adapter` when mapping from ROS 2 to DDS to avoid naming conflicts in the C/C++ libraries. The ROS 2 object `namespace::Struct` is mangled to `namespace::dds_::Struct_` for DDS. The table below provides some example mappings: | ROS 2 | DDS | | --- | --- | | `rosgraph_msgs::msg::Clock` | `rosgraph_msgs::msg::dds_::Clock_` | | `sensor_msgs::msg::NavSatFix` | `sensor_msgs::msg::dds_::NavSatFix_` | | `ardupilot_msgs::srv::ArmMotors_Request` | `ardupilot_msgs::srv::dds_::ArmMotors_Request_` | | `ardupilot_msgs::srv::ArmMotors_Response` | `ardupilot_msgs::srv::dds_::ArmMotors_Response_` | Note that a service interface always requires a Request / Response pair. #### ROS 2 topic and service names The ROS 2 design article: [Topic and Service name mapping to DDS](https://design.ros2.org/articles/topic_and_service_names.html) describes the mapping of ROS 2 topic and service names to DDS. Each ROS 2 subsystem is provided a prefix when mapped to DDS. The request / response pair for services require an additional suffix. | ROS 2 subsystem | DDS Prefix | DDS Suffix | | --- | --- | --- | | topics | rt/ | | | service request | rq/ | Request | | service response | rr/ | Reply | | service | rs/ | | | parameter | rp/ | | | action | ra/ | | The table below provides example mappings for topics and services | ROS 2 | DDS | | --- | --- | | ap/clock | rt/ap/clock | | ap/navsat/navsat0 | rt/ap/navsat/navsat0 | | ap/arm_motors | rq/ap/arm_motorsRequest, rr/ap/arm_motorsReply | Refer to existing mappings in [`AP_DDS_Topic_Table`](https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/blob/master/libraries/AP_DDS/AP_DDS_Topic_Table.h) and [`AP_DDS_Service_Table`](https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/blob/master/libraries/AP_DDS/AP_DDS_Service_Table.h) for additional details. ### Development Requirements Astyle is used to format the C++ code in AP_DDS. This is required for CI to pass the build. See [Tools/CodeStyle/ardupilot-astyle.sh](../../Tools/CodeStyle/ardupilot-astyle.sh). ```bash ./Tools/CodeStyle/ardupilot-astyle.sh libraries/AP_DDS/*.h libraries/AP_DDS/*.cpp ``` Pre-commit is used for other things like formatting python and XML code. This will run the tools automatically when you commit. If there are changes, just add them back your staging index and commit again. 1. Install [pre-commit](https://pre-commit.com/#installation) python package. 1. Install ArduPilot's hooks in the root of the repo, then commit like normal ```bash cd ardupilot pre-commit install git commit ``` ## Testing DDS on Hardware ### With Serial The easiest way to test DDS is to make use of some boards providing two serial interfaces over USB such as the Pixhawk 6X. The [Pixhawk6X/hwdef.dat](../AP_HAL_ChibiOS/hwdef/Pixhawk6X/hwdef.dat) file has this info. ``` SERIAL_ORDER OTG1 UART7 UART5 USART1 UART8 USART2 UART4 USART3 OTG2 ``` For example, build, flash, and set up OTG2 for DDS ```bash ./waf configure --board Pixhawk6X --enable-dds ./waf plane --upload mavproxy.py --console param set DDS_ENABLE 1 # Check the hwdef file for which port is OTG2 param set SERIAL8_PROTOCOL 45 param set SERIAL8_BAUD 115 reboot ``` Then run the Micro ROS agent ```bash cd /path/to/ros2_ws source install/setup.bash cd src/ardupilot/libraries/AP_DDS ros2 run micro_ros_agent micro_ros_agent serial -b 115200 -D /dev/serial/by-id/usb-ArduPilot_Pixhawk6X_210028000151323131373139-if02 ``` If connection fails, instead of running the Micro ROS agent, debug the stream ```bash python3 -m serial.tools.miniterm /dev/serial/by-id/usb-ArduPilot_Pixhawk6X_210028000151323131373139-if02 115200 --echo --encoding hexlify ``` The same steps can be done for physical serial ports once the above works to isolate software and hardware issues.