AWS DeepRacer Offroad launcher package

Overview

The AWS DeepRacer Offroad sample project is a sample application built on top of the existing AWS DeepRacer application to identify and navigate the AWS DeepRacer device through a path set up using QR codes to guide it. For detailed information about the DeepRacer Offroad sample project, see the AWS DeepRacer Offroad sample project Getting started section.

License

The source code is released under Apache 2.0.

Installation

Follow these instructions to install the AWS DeepRacer Offroad launcher package.

Prerequisites

The AWS DeepRacer device comes with all the prerequisite packages and libraries installed to run the DeepRacer Offroad sample project. For more information about the pre-installed set of packages and libraries on the AWS DeepRacer and about installing the required build systems, see Getting started with AWS DeepRacer OpenSource. The AWS DeepRacer Offroad sample project requires the AWS DeepRacer application to be installed on the device, as it leverages most of the packages from the core application.

The following are the additional software requirements to get the AWS DeepRacer Offroad sample project to work on the AWS DeepRacer device.

1. Calibrate the AWS DeepRacer (optional): Follow the instructions to calibrate the mechanics of your AWS DeepRacer vehicle. This should be done so that the vehicle performance is optimal and it behaves as expected.

Downloading and building

Open a terminal on the AWS DeepRacer device and run the following commands as the root user.

1. Switch to the root user before you source the ROS 2 installation:

    sudo su
   

2. Stop the deepracer-core.service that is currently running on the device:

    systemctl stop deepracer-core
   

3. Source the ROS 2 Foxy setup bash script:

    source /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash 
   

4. Set the environment variables required to run Intel OpenVino scripts:

    source /opt/intel/openvino_2021/bin/setupvars.sh
   

5. Create a workspace directory for the package:

    mkdir -p ~/deepracer_ws
    cd ~/deepracer_ws
   

6. Clone the entire AWS DeepRacer Offroad sample project on the AWS DeepRacer device:

    git clone https://github.com/aws-deepracer/aws-deepracer-offroad-sample-project.git
    cd ~/deepracer_ws/aws-deepracer-offroad-sample-project/deepracer_offroad_ws/
   

7. Clone the async_web_server_cpp, web_video_server, plidar_ros, and pyzbar dependency packages on the AWS DeepRacer device:

    cd ~/deepracer_ws/aws-deepracer-offroad-sample-project/deepracer_offroad_ws/ && ./install_dependencies.sh
   

8. Fetch unreleased dependencies:

    cd ~/deepracer_ws/aws-deepracer-offroad-sample-project/deepracer_offroad_ws/
    rosws update
   

9. Resolve the dependencies:

    cd ~/deepracer_ws/aws-deepracer-offroad-sample-project/deepracer_offroad_ws/ && rosdep install -i --from-path . --rosdistro foxy -y
   

10. Build the packages in the workspace

     cd ~/deepracer_ws/aws-deepracer-offroad-sample-project/deepracer_offroad_ws/ && colcon build
    

Usage

Follow these instructions to use the sample project.

Run the node

To launch the AWS DeepRacer Offroad sample application as the root user on the AWS DeepRacer device, open another terminal on the device and run the following commands as the root user:

1. Switch to the root user before you source the ROS 2 installation:

    sudo su
   

2. Source the ROS 2 Foxy setup bash script:

    source /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash 
   

3. Set the environment variables required to run Intel OpenVino scripts:

    source /opt/intel/openvino_2021/bin/setupvars.sh
   

4. Source the setup script for the installed packages:

    source ~/deepracer_ws/aws-deepracer-offroad-sample-project/deepracer_offroad_ws/install/setup.bash
   

5. Launch the nodes required for the AWS DeepRacer Offroad sample project:

    ros2 launch deepracer_offroad_launcher deepracer_offroad_launcher.py
   

Once the AWS DeepRacer Offroad sample application is launched, you can follow the steps here to open the AWS DeepRacer Vehicle’s Device Console and checkout the DeepRacer Offroad mode tab which will help you control the vehicle.

Enabling offroad mode using the CLI

Once the deepracer_offroad_launcher has been kicked off, open a adjacent new terminal as the root user:

1. Navigate to the AWS DeepRacer Offroad workspace:

    cd ~/deepracer_ws/aws-deepracer-offroad-sample-project/deepracer_offroad_ws/
   

2. Source the ROS 2 Foxy setup bash script:

    source /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash
   

3. Source the setup script for the installed packages:

    source ~/deepracer_ws/aws-deepracer-offroad-sample-project/deepracer_offroad_ws/install/setup.bash
   

4. Set the mode of the AWS DeepRacer via ctrl_pkg to offroad using the following ROS 2 service call:

    ros2 service call /ctrl_pkg/vehicle_state deepracer_interfaces_pkg/srv/ActiveStateSrv "{state: 3}"
   

5. Enable offroad mode using the following ROS 2 service call:

    ros2 service call /ctrl_pkg/enable_state deepracer_interfaces_pkg/srv/EnableStateSrv "{is_active: True}"
   

Changing the MAX_SPEED scale of the AWS DeepRacer

The MAX_SPEED scale of the AWS DeepRacer can be modified using a ROS 2 service call in case the car isn’t moving as expected. This can occur for multiple reasons, such as the vehicle battery percentage or the surface on which the car is being operated.

1. Switch to the root user before you source the ROS 2 installation:

    sudo su
   

2. Navigate to the AWS DeepRacer Offroad workspace:

    cd ~/deepracer_ws/aws-deepracer-offroad-sample-project/deepracer_offroad_ws/
   

3. Source the ROS 2 Foxy setup bash script:

    source /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash
   

4. Source the setup script for the installed packages:

    source ~/deepracer_ws/aws-deepracer-offroad-sample-project/deepracer_offroad_ws/install/setup.bash
   

5. Change the MAX_SPEED to xx% of the MAX Scale:

    ros2 service call /deepracer_offroad_navigation_pkg/set_max_speed deepracer_interfaces_pkg/srv/SetMaxSpeedSrv "{max_speed_pct: 0.xx}"
   

   Example: Change the MAX_SPEED to 75% of the MAX Scale:

    ros2 service call /deepracer_offroad_navigation_pkg/set_max_speed deepracer_interfaces_pkg/srv/SetMaxSpeedSrv "{max_speed_pct: 0.75}"
   

Launch files

The deepracer_offroad_launcher.py, included in this package, is the main launcher file that launches all the required nodes for the AWS DeepRacer Offroad sample project. This launcher file also includes the nodes from the AWS DeepRacer core application.

    from launch import LaunchDescription
    from launch_ros.actions import Node

    def generate_launch_description():
        ld = LaunchDescription()
        qr_detection_node = Node(
            package='qr_detection_pkg',
            namespace='qr_detection_pkg',
            executable='qr_detection_node',
            name='qr_detection_node'
        )
        deepracer_offroad_navigation_node = Node(
            package='deepracer_offroad_navigation_pkg',
            namespace='deepracer_offroad_navigation_pkg',
            executable='deepracer_offroad_navigation_node',
            name='deepracer_offroad_navigation_node'
        )
        camera_node = Node(
            package='camera_pkg',
            namespace='camera_pkg',
            executable='camera_node',
            name='camera_node',
            parameters=[
                {'resize_images': False}
            ]
        )
        ctrl_node = Node(
            package='ctrl_pkg',
            namespace='ctrl_pkg',
            executable='ctrl_node',
            name='ctrl_node'
        )
        deepracer_navigation_node = Node(
            package='deepracer_navigation_pkg',
            namespace='deepracer_navigation_pkg',
            executable='deepracer_navigation_node',
            name='deepracer_navigation_node'
        )
        software_update_node = Node(
            package='deepracer_systems_pkg',
            namespace='deepracer_systems_pkg',
            executable='software_update_node',
            name='software_update_node'
        )
        model_loader_node = Node(
            package='deepracer_systems_pkg',
            namespace='deepracer_systems_pkg',
            executable='model_loader_node',
            name='model_loader_node'
        )
        otg_control_node = Node(
            package='deepracer_systems_pkg',
            namespace='deepracer_systems_pkg',
            executable='otg_control_node',
            name='otg_control_node'
        )
        network_monitor_node = Node(
            package='deepracer_systems_pkg',
            namespace='deepracer_systems_pkg',
            executable='network_monitor_node',
            name='network_monitor_node'
        )
        deepracer_systems_scripts_node = Node(
            package='deepracer_systems_pkg',
            namespace='deepracer_systems_pkg',
            executable='deepracer_systems_scripts_node',
            name='deepracer_systems_scripts_node'
        )
        device_info_node = Node(
            package='device_info_pkg',
            namespace='device_info_pkg',
            executable='device_info_node',
            name='device_info_node'
        )
        battery_node = Node(
            package='i2c_pkg',
            namespace='i2c_pkg',
            executable='battery_node',
            name='battery_node'
        )
        inference_node = Node(
            package='inference_pkg',
            namespace='inference_pkg',
            executable='inference_node',
            name='inference_node'
        )
        model_optimizer_node = Node(
            package='model_optimizer_pkg',
            namespace='model_optimizer_pkg',
            executable='model_optimizer_node',
            name='model_optimizer_node'
        )
        rplidar_node = Node(
            package='rplidar_ros2',
            namespace='rplidar_ros',
            executable='rplidar_scan_publisher',
            name='rplidar_scan_publisher',
            parameters=[{
                    'serial_port': '/dev/ttyUSB0',
                    'serial_baudrate': 115200,
                    'frame_id': 'laser',
                    'inverted': False,
                    'angle_compensate': True,
                }]
        )
        sensor_fusion_node = Node(
            package='sensor_fusion_pkg',
            namespace='sensor_fusion_pkg',
            executable='sensor_fusion_node',
            name='sensor_fusion_node'
        )
        servo_node = Node(
            package='servo_pkg',
            namespace='servo_pkg',
            executable='servo_node',
            name='servo_node'
        )
        status_led_node = Node(
            package='status_led_pkg',
            namespace='status_led_pkg',
            executable='status_led_node',
            name='status_led_node'
        )
        usb_monitor_node = Node(
            package='usb_monitor_pkg',
            namespace='usb_monitor_pkg',
            executable='usb_monitor_node',
            name='usb_monitor_node'
        )
        webserver_publisher_node = Node(
            package='webserver_pkg',
            namespace='webserver_pkg',
            executable='webserver_publisher_node',
            name='webserver_publisher_node'
        )
        web_video_server_node = Node(
            package='web_video_server',
            namespace='web_video_server',
            executable='web_video_server',
            name='web_video_server'
        )
        ld.add_action(qr_detection_node)
        ld.add_action(deepracer_offroad_navigation_node)
        ld.add_action(camera_node)
        ld.add_action(ctrl_node)
        ld.add_action(deepracer_navigation_node)
        ld.add_action(software_update_node)
        ld.add_action(model_loader_node)
        ld.add_action(otg_control_node)
        ld.add_action(network_monitor_node)
        ld.add_action(deepracer_systems_scripts_node)
        ld.add_action(device_info_node)
        ld.add_action(battery_node)
        ld.add_action(inference_node)
        ld.add_action(model_optimizer_node)
        ld.add_action(rplidar_node)
        ld.add_action(sensor_fusion_node)
        ld.add_action(servo_node)
        ld.add_action(status_led_node)
        ld.add_action(usb_monitor_node)
        ld.add_action(webserver_publisher_node)
        ld.add_action(web_video_server_node)
        return ld

Configuration file and parameters

Resources

• Getting started with AWS DeepRacer OpenSource
• Getting started with the DeepRacer Offroad sample project
• Instructions for creating QR codes to set up the Offroad path
• Instructions for calibrating your AWS DeepRacer