i3dr-Rtabmap-ROS2-Docker

Creating a Docker image to set up a ROS2 workspace that integrates pyphase and rtabmap.

Ubuntu Host Machine

Requirements

• Nvidia graphics card
• Nvidia drivers
• Virtualisation enabled in BIOS

Install Docker

Install docker using these instructions: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ubuntu/

Install Xorg

sudo apt-get install xorg openbox

Checking Installs

Check that the correct nvidia drivers are installed with the following commands:

nvcc --version
nvidia-smi
cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version

Check Docker is installed correctly by running:

sudo docker run hello-world

Building the Image

1. Ensure docker is running.
2. Run build.sh

Running a Container from the Image

1. Run run.sh.
2. Inside the container ensure you are in /root/ros2_ws and run:

source /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash
apt-get update
rosdep update && rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y
export MAKEFLAGS="-j6" # Can be ignored if you have a lot of RAM (>16GB)
colcon build --symlink-install --cmake-args -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
. install/setup.bash
source /root/data/lic_setup.sh

Test the camera

Inside the container run:

python3 ~/data/pyphase_example.py

Running a RTabMap Scan

Inside the container navigate to ~/ros2_ws and run:

ros2 launch phase_rtabmap_ros2 phase_rtabmap_launch.py left_serial:=40098272 right_serial:=40098282 camera_name:=I3DRTitania_746974616e24317 device_type:=titania interface_type:=usb exposure:=10000

CTRL-C to stop the scan. CTRL-D to quit the docker image.

Windows Host Machine

Note: Running an ubuntu docker container with a Windows host machine will not allow external devices (i.e. cameras) to connect.

Downloads

1. Docker desktop
2. Xming

Installing Docker

Check that your system supports virtualization by opening the command prompt and running:

systeminfo

If your processor supports Hardware Virtualization technology, you will be able to see a section of Hyper-V requirements along with the status. If virtualization is turned off, you will see “No” in front of the option “Virtualization Enabled in Firmware”. To allow virtualization you may need to enable it in BIOS.

With that done, install Docker desktop. To check it has installed correctly open the command prompt and run:

docker version

Building the Image

1. Ensure docker is running (in windows there will be an icon in the system tray).
2. Run build.bat

This only needs to be done once as the image will be stored locally.

Running a Container from the Image

1. Run Xming. When it is running you will see an X icon in the system tray.
2. Start the container with run.bat.
3. Inside the container ensure you are in /root/ros2_ws and run:

source /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash
rosdep update && rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y
export MAKEFLAGS="-j6" # Can be ignored if you have a lot of RAM (>16GB)
colcon build --symlink-install --cmake-args -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
. install/setup.bash
source /root/data/lic_setup.sh

Developer Notes

Initially this was built with the line FROM introlab3it/rtabmap_ros:humble. This simplified the Dockerfile and allowed us to use Ubuntu 22.04 and ROS2 Humble, but the image did not utilize the GPU, which is necessary for running I3DRSGM. The current implementation uses the GPU and OpenGL, however it is only possible to use Ubuntu 20.04 and ROS2 Foxy.

To allow the I3DRSGM license to be accepted, it is necessary to run the container with the --hostname yourlicensehostname flag, so that the hostnbame of the container matches the hostname of the license. It also requires you to match the hostid of the license (only the first six characters seem to be necessary) with the hostid of the docker container. To do this the hostid of the container can be indirectly set by changing the ip address in the hosts file. echo "yourlicenseipaddress yourlicensehostname" > /etc/hosts. "yourlicenseipaddress" can be found by converting the hostid of the license to an ip address (see license_scripts).