Preparations for State Estimation Tutorial

Table of contents

  1. Download files
  2. Compile gtsam_catkin
  3. Build smb_msf_graph
  4. Check the compiled code
  5. Running the ROS Bag File in Docker (Only for rss_workspace and smb_docker)
    1. Copying the ROS Bag File into the Docker Container
  6. (Optional, but recommended) System Installs

To prepare for the Tutorial on State Estimation, make sure SMB simulation environment is set up and running.

Download files

In order to follow the tutorial you will need the rosbag files located in the following folder:

Download the rosbag(s) into a folder of your choice. In the tutorial this location will be denoted as <path_to_bagfile>.

Compile gtsam_catkin

To compile the required packages, simply run

catkin build gtsam_catkin

This will build gtsam in you workspace and could take up to 5 minutes depending on your CPU.

The very first build of gtsam_catkin usually takes longer than subsequent build. Even after cleaning the build result with catkin clean, it will still be much faster, as the compiled binaries are preserved in the lib/gtsam_catkin folder in the source space.

Build smb_msf_graph

To build smb_msf_graph run

catkin build smb_msf_graph

This will compile all dependencies present in the workspace, including open3d_slam.

Check the compiled code

You can test the success of the compilation by running the following code (from the root directory of the workspace).

source devel/setup.bash    # or `wssetup` if you are using rss_workspace
roslaunch smb_msf_graph smb_msf_graph.launch

If everything launches without any error messages, your C++ software is ready for the tutorial.

Running the ROS Bag File in Docker (Only for rss_workspace and smb_docker)

Copying the ROS Bag File into the Docker Container

If you use rss_workspace and smb_docker, you can copy them into the Docker container using the docker cp command. Ensure the Docker container is running before performing these steps:

  1. Find the name of the Docker container by running the following command (make sure your Docker container is running)

    docker ps

    The output will look like this if you are using the rss_workspace:

    CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                            COMMAND       CREATED         STATUS         NAMES
1234567890ab   vsc-rss_workspace-123asd-uid     "/bin/bash"   5 minutes ago   Up 5 minutes   sad_hawking

    or like this if you are using the smb_docker:

    CONTAINER ID   IMAGE             COMMAND       CREATED         STATUS         NAMES
1234567890ab   smb_docker        "/bin/bash"   5 minutes ago   Up 5 minutes   sad_hawking

    In this example, the name of the Docker container is sad_hawking.

  2. Copy the ROS bag file into the Docker container, replacing <NAME-OF-CONTAINER> with the actual name of the Docker container and /path/to/your/rosbag.bag with the path to the ROS bag file on your local machine:

    docker cp /path/to/your/rosbag.bag <NAME-OF-CONTAINER>:/workspaces/rss_workspace/src/rosbags/

    If you are using vscode, you can try to drag and drop the rosbag into the vscode file explorer to copy it into the container. But be aware that this might take longer than docker cp. For example, it might take a few minutes to copy a 1GB file.

  3. Navigate to the directory containing the ROS bag file inside the container:

    cd /workspaces/rss_workspace/src/rosbags

  4. Play the ROS bag file:

    rosbag play <rosbag_name>.bag

    If the bag file does not run and you see an error like:

    [ERROR] [1718830710.056746147]: [registerPublisher] Failed to contact master at [localhost:11311]. Retrying...

    You might need to start the ROS master with the following command:

    roscore
  • terminator, because multiple terminals will be needed during the tutorial.
sudo apt-get install terminator

If you are using rss_workspace, jsk_rviz_plugins is already installed.

  • jsk_rviz_plugins, for visualizing TF-paths in RVIZ.
sudo apt-get install ros-noetic-jsk-rviz-plugins