Getting Started¶

By the end of this tutorial, you will have the autonomy stack running on your machine.

Requirements¶

You need at least 25GB free to install the Docker image.

Have an NVIDIA GPU >= RTX 3070 to run Isaac Sim locally.

Setup¶

Clone¶

git clone --recursive -j8 [email protected]:castacks/AirStack.git

Docker¶

Follow NVIDIA's instructions for installing Docker to be compatible with NVIDIA GPUs, including adding the NVIDIA Container Toolkit. Make sure docker-compose-plugin is also installed with Docker.

Configure¶

Run ./configure.sh and follow the instructions in the prompts to do an initial configuration of the repo.

Docker Images¶

Now you have two options on how to proceed. You can build the docker image from scratch or pull the existing image on the airlab docker registry. Building the image from scratch can be useful if you would like to add new dependencies or add new custom functionality. For most users just pulling the existing image will be more conveninent and fast since it doesn't require access to the Nvidia registry.

Option 1: Pull From the Airlab Registry (Preferred)

To use the AirLab Docker registry do the following

cd AirStack/
docker login airlab-storage.andrew.cmu.edu:5001
## <Enter your andrew id (without @andrew.cmu.edu)>
## <Enter your andrew password>

## Pull the images in the docker compose file
docker compose pull

The images will be pulled from the server automatically. This might take a while since the images are large.

Option 2: Build Docker Images From Scratch

1. Download the Ascent Spirit SITL software package by running this script (pip3 is required):

cd AirStack/
bash simulation/isaac-sim/installation/download_sitl.bash

2. Next, gain access to NVIDIA NGC Containers by following these instructions. Then:

cd AirStack/
docker compose build  # build the images locally

If you have permission you can push updated images to the docker server.

docker compose push

Launch¶

xhost +  # allow docker access to X-Server

# Make sure you are in the AirStack directory.

# Start docker compose services. This launches Isaac Sim and the robots.
#  You can append `--scale robot=[NUM_ROBOTS]` for more robots, default is 1
docker compose up -d

Then open the stage from the Nucleus server: airlab-storage.andrew.cmu.edu:8443/Projects/AirStack/neighborhood.scene.usd

Move Robot¶

Find the RQT GUI window. Hit Takeoff, then hit Publish in the trajectory window like in this video:

Note you can also use the ros2 topic pub command to move the robot. For example, to fly to a position:

# start another terminal in docker container
docker exec -it airstack-robot-1 bash
# in docker
# FLY TO POSITION. Put whatever position you want
ros2 topic pub /robot_1/interface/mavros/setpoint_position/local geometry_msgs/PoseStamped \
    "{ header: { stamp: { sec: 0, nanosec: 0 }, frame_id: 'base_link' }, \
    pose: { position: { x: 10.0, y: 0.0, z: 20.0 }, orientation: { x: 0.0, y: 0.0, z: 0.0, w: 1.0 } } }" -1

Shutdown¶

To shutdown and remove docker containers:

docker compose down