Clearpath Husky | Nvidia Orin | Ouster | Phidgets | ROS Humble
This post is a quick and compact guide for working with Husky (ROS2).
Informative Links
Quick Start
Activate the robot by pressing the power button. The initialization process of the Husky, along with the Ouster, Phidgets IMU, and NVIDIA, may require up to a minute to commence. A green light signals that the MCU (Microcontroller Unit) has successfully initiated, established a connection with the onboard PC, and is ready to receive commands from the onboard PC.
Logitech - Robot Controls
- L1 is the dead man’s switch for slow speed.
- R1 is the dead man’s switch for high speed.
- LJ (Left Joystick) is to move in x and y direction.
Husky Static Network Connection
To create a static connection in your PC (not the Husky), in Ubuntu go to Settings → Network then click on + and create a new connection.
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The first task is to go to IPv4 and change the connection to manual.
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The second task is to put the Address IP as 192.168.131.52 (may differ from robot to robot) and the Netmask as 24.
Click save and restart your network. Next is to open up the Husky as shown, and connect the LAN cable to the robot.
After a successful connection let’s check the host’s local IP by typing in the Host PC’s terminal.
ifconfig
This should show the host IP which was assigned in the above step. Now it is time to check if we can ping the robot or not, to do so type in your host pc
ping 192.168.131.1
After a successful ping, it’s time to access the robot. To access the robot you can type the following command:
ssh -X administrator@192.168.131.1
The password is
mybotshop
Once connected, you can SSH into the robot which would provide further information.
Note: in case you cannot ping the husky the ssh client may be missing in your pc. It can be installed via
sudo apt-get install openssh-server
Husky Screen Connection
An alternative for connecting to the Husky is by plugging in an HDMI cable as well as a mouse and keyboard.
Husky PC DHCP
The procedure is simply to go to your networks and add your WiFi. Then in the terminal type:
ifconfig
The IP that comes with the initial characters of wl is your WiFi’s IP. e.g. wlps0. With this IP you can SSH to your robot.
ssh -X administrator@192.168.0.228
192.168.0.228 is just an example of this. IP is taken from the ifconfig.
mybotshop
Network
Network configuration for the robot is.
| Device | Network | Username | Password |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main PC | 192.168.131.1 | administrator | mybotshop |
| Nvidia Orin | 192.168.131.4 | administrator | mybotshop |
| Ouster | 192.168.131.20 | - | - |
Husky Software
The drivers configured by MYBOTSHOP for the Husky can be found in the ros2_ws. Within the src folder, the third_party directory includes drivers for the Husky, as well as additional sensors like the Ouster, Fixposition, and Phidgets IMU.
Husky Start-up Job
The start-up job is available for both the main PC and NVIDIA. In the main PC, the startup job launches several components.
The launch file system.launch.py in the ros2_ws package of hsky_bringup (nv_bringup for Nvidia) includes everything that is being launched at the startup.
sudo service clearpath-robot status
Here’s what the different markers signify:
- Red Marker: Indicates a failed startup job.
- Green Marker: Indicates normal functioning.
- Grey Marker: Indicates the service hasn’t started yet.
In case of a red or grey marker, you can attempt to restart the service using:
sudo service clearpath-robot restart
sudo service clearpath-platform restart
Husky Sensors
Ouster
The Husky model provided comes equipped with the Ousterintegrated into the system. The Ouster drivers start automatically in the background when the Husky boots up. On Husky startup, the drivers for the Ouster are launched from the husky_lidar/launch/system.launch.py directory. You can also run the drivers manually using the following command:
ros2 launch hsky_lidar system.launch.py
NOTE: To run outsre driver manually please stop the mbs-ouster service first
Instructions for use are given in:
Phidgets
The provided Husky has a phidgets inertial measurement unit integrated into the husky. The parameters for odometry can be tuned in the folder ros2_ws/src/mybotshop/hsky_control/config/localization.yaml.
It is recommended not to change the parameters without a backup and expert supervision.
Instructions for use are given in:
Autonomous Navigation
Odom Navigation
To perform odometry-based navigation, execute the command:
ros2 launch hsky_nav2 odom_navi.launch.py
This command lets you navigate the robot in the global frame of map
*Map Navigation
To initiate map-based navigation, the process involves mapping the environment first, followed by waypoint navigation. Here are the steps to achieve this:
- Start creating a map by executing the SLAM navigation command:
ros2 launch hsky_nav2 slam.launch.py
- Simultaneously, in a separate terminal, launch the visualization command to observe the map being constructed:
ros2 launch hsky_viz view_robot.launch.py
Utilize the joystick controller to navigate and create the map. Once satisfied with the map, export it using this command in one of the Jackal’s terminals:
ros2 run nav2_map_server map_saver_cli -f /home/administrator/ros2_ws/src/mybotshop/hsky_nav2/maps/custom_map
After saving the map, rebuild the packages to incorporate the new map:
colcon build --symlink-install --cmake-args -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
Upon successful rebuilding, in one terminal, launch the map navigation command to load the saved map:
ros2 launch hsky_nav2 map_navi.launch.py
Finally, in a separate terminal, execute the visualization command to visualize and control the robot via rviz:
ros2 launch hsky_viz view_robot.launch.py
Parameter Configuration
In the hsky_nav2 package, in the config folder, the parameters can be adjusted for further requirements. What is provided is just a minimal configured setup and it is recommended to adjust the parameters.
Caution
- Please read the instruction manuals about Clearpath Husky and Sensors before operating the robot.
- Always be vigilant and remain close to the emergency stop buttons when the robot is in operation.
Known Issues
- Husky moving forward on startup
- This may occur due to time synchronization of the internet causing the robot’s joint states to reverse. This is dependent on how the network is synchronized between the Husky’s computer and the internet.
- By default, we have disabled synchronization of time from the internet to prevent this issue, until Clearpath updates its drivers.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Logitech controller not working
- Ensure that it is powered on.
- Ensure that the input mode is X, which is set on the backside of the controller.
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Husky in standby mode (yellow color)
- Ensure that the emergency switch is twisted and released.
- Ensure that the key is in the unlock position.
- Ensure that the Husky’s battery is plugged in properly, especially the blue connector.
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Unable to see some of the ros2 topic lists in remote PC.
- Ensure you are in the same network
- Ensure that your ROS DOMAIN ID is 0
- Ensure that your ROS LOCAL HOST is set to 0
- Ensure that your network system (+router) allows for ROS2 communication and/or is configured
- Restart the robot services:
- sudo service clearpath-robot restart
- sudo service mbs-imu restart
Issues
In case of any issues please first try restarting the service of the robot via:
sudo service clearpath-robot restart
sudo service clearpath-platform restart
In case of questions please contact support@mybotshop.de. For issues related to the software please attach a ros2 bag e.g.
ros2 bag record -a