nautluis_sim

ROS Packages for Nautilus Simulation

Usage

Make sure you have docker installed and have access to nautilus_surface.

Container Usage

Build Environment

docker-compose -f local-compose.yaml --profile sim up --build

Or, if you don't want to rebuild your container

docker-compose -f local-compose.yaml --profile sim up

Running with roslaunch

Start up the containers with docker compose then run this command on the surface container. Open the UI on http://localhost:3000 to enable controller input (works best on chrome).

roslaunch nautilus_launch sim.launch

Then, if you want the visualization of the sim through gzweb (on http://localhost:8080), run the following in the sim container

rosrun nautilus_worlds launch_web.bash

Running with Individual Commands

0. Launch ROS on the surface container

roscore

or, if you want the surface code

roslaunch nautilus_launch system.launch

The rest of the commands all take place in the sim container.

1. Start gzserver (in it's own shell)

roscd nautilus_worlds/worlds && rosrun gazebo_ros gzserver underwater.world --verbose

2. Start gzweb (in it's own shell)

cd /root/gzweb && npm start

3. Compile your URDF

For Nautilus

roscd nautilus_description/urdf && xacro nautilus.urdf.xacro > nautilus.urdf

For ROV 22

roscd nautilus_description/urdf && xacro rov22.urdf.xacro > rov22.urdf

4. Spawn your URDF

For Nautilus

roscd nautilus_description/urdf && rosrun gazebo_ros spawn_model -f nautilus.urdf -urdf -model nautilus -z 2

For ROV 22

roscd nautilus_description/urdf && rosrun gazebo_ros spawn_model -f rov22.urdf -urdf -model rov22 -z 2

This spawns the post-processed xacro file in gazebo. Gazebo will implictly convert from urdf to sdf at this time, if this step does not work then run check_urdf <(xacro nautilus.urdf.xacro) and see if there are any errors.

5. (Alternativately) compile and spawn at the same time

For ROV 22

roscd nautilus_description/urdf && xacro rov22.urdf.xacro > rov22.urdf && rosrun gazebo_ros spawn_model -f rov22.urdf -urdf -model rov22 -z 2

6. (Optional) Test ROV with sample data

Be sure to source your ROS environment first.

rosrun nautilus_worlds sample_data.py

Overview

This is a highly portable simulation of UWROV's ROV. It's capable of being used as a stand-in for actual hardware, and can give a rough idea of how our ROV might interact with the real world.

nautilus_description

This package contains the physical description of the ROV, some key files to pay attention to:

• urdf/nautilus.urdf.xacro
  • A macro file which contains the physical definition of the ROV. Changes to motor layout or physical measurements should happen here.
• urdf/nautilus.gazebo
  • Another macro file which contains the plugin and sensor data which interacts with the ROV.
• meshes/nautilus.dae
  • Model of the ROV, used for visuals

nautilus_worlds

Contains the world information and any custom plugins we write:

• worlds/underwater.world
  • A sdf file containing the definition of the world the ROV inhabits. Change or copy this file if you need to add any props in.
• src/
  • Contains all the custom plugins which power the simulation. The thruster managing code is here.