Quickstart
This guide will help you to setup your programming environment to start using the xbot2 framework.
System Setup
The xbot2 framework is written in C++17 and depends on a few external packages. Note that xbot2 is released free of charge, and it is not open source: as a standard user you are expected to install the framework using our apt server as follow.
System Requirements
Currently the xbot2 framework support the following operating systems:
Linux Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Linux Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
Moreover it supports the Xenomai3 Real-Time (RT) co-kernel system.
Dependencies
Install the ROS base version of the target OS you choose.
First of all set up the source.list and your keys:
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://packages.ros.org/ros/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ros-latest.list'
sudo apt install curl
curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ros/rosdistro/master/ros.asc | sudo apt-key add -
Then continue based on the OS you are working on for the right ROS and Gazebo version (including the sourcing in the .bashrc):
on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic):
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y \
ros-melodic-ros-base \
libgazebo9-dev
echo ". /opt/ros/melodic/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
. ~/.bashrc
on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal):
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y \
ros-noetic-ros-base \
libgazebo11-dev
echo ". /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
You can now install some extra ROS and QT packages needed for xbot2:
source $HOME/.bashrc
sudo apt install -y \
ros-$ROS_DISTRO-urdf ros-$ROS_DISTRO-kdl-parser \
ros-$ROS_DISTRO-eigen-conversions ros-$ROS_DISTRO-robot-state-publisher ros-$ROS_DISTRO-moveit-core \
ros-$ROS_DISTRO-rviz ros-$ROS_DISTRO-interactive-markers ros-$ROS_DISTRO-tf-conversions ros-$ROS_DISTRO-tf2-eigen \
qttools5-dev libqt5charts5-dev qtdeclarative5-dev
Install the xbot2 framework
This installation is meant for a non-RT capable machine (e.g. your laptop).
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://xbot.cloud/xbot2/ubuntu/$(lsb_release -sc) /" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/xbot-latest.list'
wget -q -O - http://xbot.cloud/xbot2/ubuntu/KEY.gpg | sudo apt-key add -
sudo apt update
sudo apt install xbot2_desktop_full
The installed libraries/binaries are made visible by sourcing the provided /opt/xbot/setup.sh script:
echo ". /opt/xbot/setup.sh" >> ~/.bashrc
Note that installing the xbot2_dekstop_full package will also provide the following SDKs:
CartesI/O (with OpenSoT under the hood)
Run the examples
Clone and compile the examples repository! The readme file will guide you through the commented source code, and you’ll be able to play with the IIT-Teleop robotic arm inside Gazebo. If you’re just curious and you don’t want to deal with software installation, the examples can be executed on a Docker container as well (see the provided instruction).