Installation

RAS Docker is the main workspace where two applications, robot and server, can be worked with seamlessly. This document provides an overview of its setup and usage.

Note

Currently, Ubuntu is the officially supported distro for RAS.

Prequisites to use RAS

Before using RAS, ensure that you have the following dependencies installed:

Vcstool - A command-line tool for managing multiple repositories in ROS2 workspaces.
```
python3 -m pip install vcstool
```
Docker-CE - The community edition of Docker for containerized application management and Nvidia Container Toolkit if the device has an Nvidia GPU.
- Docker
- Nvidia Container Toolkit
Argcomplete - A Python package that provides tab completion for command-line programs.
```
sudo apt install python3-argcomplete
```
Git - A version control system used for tracking changes in source code.
```
sudo apt install git
```

Clone the Repository

git clone --recursive https://github.com/ras-ros2/ras_docker

RAS Docker Interface (RAS)

RAS Docker includes a command-line utility called RDI (RAS Docker Interface), implemented in the ras_docker package under the scripts directory.

Source the Environment File

source ./ras_docker/env.sh

Check Available Commands

To see the available RDI commands, run:

ras -h

Directory Structure

apps Directory

The apps directory houses the two applications, server and robot, which are Docker containers built using the Docker images located in the context directory.

context Directory

The context directory contains the Docker images used to build the applications:

Dockerfile.base: Based on the humble-desktop-full image, it installs dependencies common to both applications (e.g., python3-pip).
Dockerfile.server: Extends Dockerfile.base and adds dependencies specific to the server application (e.g., ignition-fortress).
Dockerfile.robot: Extends Dockerfile.base and adds dependencies specific to the robot application.

Check App-Specific Commands

To see commands specific to an application (e.g., server):

ras server -h

Working with the Server Application

Initialize Server

ras server init

This creates a ras_server_app directory under the apps folder.

Build the Docker Image for the Server App

ras server build

Build the ROS 2 Workspace

ras server build

This builds the src folder inside the ros2_ws directory present in ras_server_app.

Run the Server Lab

ras server run

This starts the container and executes the code defined in the run.sh file within ras_server_app.

Hack into the Container

ras server dev

Login to the container, explore, and hack your way into the application.