Ubuntu 20.04 Install (Preferred)
On the software team, the operating system we use is Ubuntu 20.04. Ubuntu is a popular Linux distribution that supports ROS2, a robotics framework that is at the core of our architecture. There is also the option of using ROS on WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) without any gui compatibility(rviz, rqt, etc). We will not provide any support to you using ROS2 on anything other than an Ubuntu 20.04 installation (maybe windows).
Ubuntu can be installed in one of two ways: Dual Booting, or Virtual Machine. Dual Booting involves adding a partition to your computer’s hard drive and installing Ubuntu on the new partition. This allows you to run both your original OS and Ubuntu on your computer natively and can take advantage of your full laptop hardware (CPU cores, GPU, ports, etc). This is the strongly preferred method, but the process of dual booting has some risks associated with it (a mistake could wipe your main OS). Be sure to backup all your important files before proceeding with a dual-boot setup. A Virtual Machine involves running a guest OS, such as Ubuntu, virtually within a host OS, such as Windows or Mac. This is risk-free, but VM’s often suffer from poor performance, especially when using ROS. VM’s typically cannot take advantage of your GPU, and external ports and interfaces do not always work properly. Additionally, we have found that some computers refuse to cooperate with VM’s.
Assuming that you can get a VM set up, this training is equally doable on either a dual-booted PC or in a VM. However, due to the drawbacks of VM’s, it is preferred that all members who are committed to working on the team use dual boot, as it will help productivity in the long run. You can still get tasks using a VM, but the tasks we can give you will be limited.
Dual boot Setup (Preferred)
There are many tutorials online on how to dual boot a Windows PC with Ubuntu. The general procedure involves partitioning your hard drive, creating a bootable USB stick with a Ubuntu image, then rebooting into that USB stick and following the installation instructions. Here is a generic tutorial covering the process for Windows, although it may help to find a tutorial for your specific PC model:
The process for Mac computers is slightly more complicated, but still doable, as it requires installing a new boot manager as well. Here is a Mac tutorial:
https://www.lifewire.com/dual-boot-linux-and-mac-os-4125733
Some computer models won’t work perfectly right away (especially graphics cards) so you may have to do some extra setup. Below are some common models with special setup instructions
- Dell XPS 15 9570
- Must disable windows safe boot and change SATA mode to AHCI before install!
- Post install Script (installs proper drivers for GPU, makes things run better)
- Run post install script from https://github.com/JackHack96/dell-xps-9570-ubuntu-respin
- Note that you must install curl (“sudo apt install curl”)
- The provided command requires “sudo “to be added to the start
- Microsoft Surface Series
- https://www.reddit.com/r/SurfaceLinux/comments/7kb1ky/guide_installing_linux_on_surfaceseries_devices/
- Some Hardware on Surfaces simply does not work on Ubuntu:
VM Setup (Alright, Probably Slow)
To install Ubuntu as a Virtual Machine, first install a Virtual Machine software. We recommend Virtual Box (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads) as it is free and works on all common OS’s. Once installed, download the Ubuntu 20.04 image from https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop and install it by following a tutorial for your VM software.
Once installed, ensure that your VM is working well (e.g. can connect to the internet, not too slow, etc). If the VM’s performance is very laggy, you may have to increase the RAM and number of cores dedicated to the VM (https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-improve-virtualbox-guest-performance-in-five-steps/ , section 2)
Windows Setup (Not Preferred)
With the upcoming development of ROS2 on windows, you are able to run ROS2 on windows. Although this method of setup is discouraged it can still be used.
This link https://docs.ros.org/en/foxy/Installation/Windows-Install-Binary.html describes how to install ROS2 for windows. If you run into any issues Google is your best bet.