ROS2 Humble - Clearpath Jackal

Question

I own a Clearpath Jackal (J100-0758) with GPS, Intel Realsense D415 and ouster os1-32-u. I have been trying to install ROS2 Humble for some time. Unfortunately, I keep running into problems. I have tried the following instructions:

1. https://github.com/r-shima/jackal_ros2_humble

2. https://docs.clearpathrobotics.com/docs/ros/installation/robot/

No obvious errors occurred with either set of instructions. Subsequently, I was able to connect the PS4 controller, but unfortunately I can not control the Jackal. Controlling it via the keyboard is also not possible. "Ros2 topic list" shows the following output:

/parameter_events

/rosout

Provided the installation and control eventually works, I would like to integrate the LiDAR and the Jackal should be able to drive autonomously. Are there perhaps further instructions for the installation of ROS2 Humble? The installation of ROS2 Foxy did not work either.

Answer 1

This response is only in reference to the official clearpath Humble packages:

First you could make sure that the clearpath packages installed correctly by sshing into the robot and echoing the topics there. If you are not able to see all of the topics then it doesn't sound like you completed the install correctly or you have not created your robot.yaml file correctly. You should be able to control the robot using the teleop keyboard tool while ssh'd into the robot. Please do ensure that you update all of the packages because significant improvements have been made recently. Depending on when you created your robot.yaml, it may also need to be updated to the latest format. Please also ensure that the contents are only those indicated as supported in the documentation.

Next, I would suggest you focus on getting your computer set up to communicate with the robot. In order to do so, please follow the remote PC install instructions found here: https://docs.clearpathrobotics.com/docs/ros/installation/remote_pc and if you have done this previously then please make sure to update all of the packages since there have also been improvements made here recently.

Once this is done try establishing an ethernet connection to your robot and ensure that you are able to see all of the topics. If you cannot see all of the topics then first make sure you have properly sourced the clearpath setup file and if that still doesn't work try connecting directly to the PC, bypassing any switches etc. Once that is verified, then you can try to see if you can see all of the topics over wifi. If you are not able to see all of the topics then you will need to make sure that your any switches and wifi networks support mutlicasting, required for the discovery process.

All of this being said, the official ROS 2 Humble Clearpath packages currently only support a limited number of sensors, seen here: https://docs.clearpathrobotics.com/docs/ros/#supported-sensors. The Ouster is not currently supported in the clearpath packages and you would be responsible for setting it up from source or wait for it to be officially supported.

In general though, if you need support to upgrade your robot to the latest packages please reach out to Clearpath Support and they can assist you through the process and provide customized instructions for your situation as necessary.