Before we make an attempt to control the TurtleBot from a remote computer, it is wise to test the TurtleBot in standalone mode. TurtleBot will be powered on and we will use its netbook to check whether the robot is operational on its own.
To prepare the TurtleBot, perform the following steps:
- Plug in the power to the 3D sensor via the TurtleBot base connection (Kinect only).
- Plug in the power to the netbook via the TurtleBot base connection.
- Power on the netbook and establish the network connection on the netbook. This should be the network used for TurtleBot's
ROS_MASTER_URIIP address. - Power on the TurtleBot base.
- Plug in the 3D sensor to the netbook through a USB 2.0 port (Kinect for Windows v2 uses the USB 3.0 port).
Ensure that ROS environment variables are configured correctly on the netbook. Refer to the Netbook network setup section in Chapter 3, Driving Around with TurtleBot, and the Configuring TurtleBot and installing 3D sensor software section.
To test the operation of the TurtleBot 3D sensor in standalone mode, perform the following steps on the netbook:
- On the TurtleBot netbook, bring up a terminal window and run the TurtleBot minimal launch:
$ roslaunch turtlebot_bringup minimal.launch - Open another terminal window and start the camera nodelets for Kinect:
$ roslaunch freenect_launch freenect.launchIf you are using an ASUS or Carmine sensor, start the camera nodelets using the following command:
$ roslaunch openni2_launch openni2.launch
If these commands run on TurtleBot with no errors, you are ready to proceed with running 3D visualizations from the remote computer. If you receive errors, such as No devices connected…, make sure that the correct camera drivers are installed, as described in the Configuring TurtleBot and installing 3D sensor software section. Also, make sure that the TurtleBot base is powered on.