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5.4.1 SLAM Mapping

Feature Introduction​

SLAM stands for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping. This section uses ROS2's SLAM-Toolbox as the mapping algorithm, controls the robot in Gazebo to navigate and build a map, and visualizes the mapping effect via Rviz2. SLAM-Toolbox runs on the RDK, while Gazebo and Rviz2 run on a PC that is on the same network segment as the RDK.

Supported Platforms​

PlatformExecution Method
RDK X3, RDK X3 ModuleUbuntu 20.04 (Foxy), Ubuntu 22.04 (Humble)
RDK X5, RDK X5 ModuleUbuntu 22.04 (Humble)
RDK S100, RDK S100PUbuntu 22.04 (Humble)
RDK S600Ubuntu 24.04 (Jazzy)

Preparation​

RDK Platform​

  1. The RDK is flashed with the Ubuntu system image.

  2. TogetheROS.Bot is successfully installed on the RDK.

  3. After tros.b is successfully installed, install SLAM-Toolbox:

# Configure tros.b environment
source /opt/tros/setup.bash
# Configure tros.b environment
source /opt/tros/humble/setup.bash
# Configure tros.b environment
source /opt/tros/jazzy/setup.bash
sudo apt-get install ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-slam-toolbox
info

If the installation fails with the following error:

  The following packages have unmet dependencies:
   ros-foxy-slam-toolbox : Depends: ros-foxy-nav2-map-server but it is not going to be installed
  E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

Please run the following commands before installing:

apt update

sudo apt install libwebp6=0.6.1-2ubuntu0.20.04.3

Note

If the sudo apt update command fails or returns an error, please refer to the Q10: How to handle apt update command failure or error? section in the FAQ for a solution.

If the sudo apt update command fails or returns an error, please refer to the Q10: How to handle apt update command failure or error? section in the FAQ for a solution.

Note

If the sudo apt update command fails or returns an error, please refer to the FAQ section Q6: How to handle apt update command failure or error? for resolution.

If the sudo apt update command fails or returns an error, please refer to the Q6: How to handle apt update command failure or error? section in the FAQ for a solution.

:::

  1. A PC on the same network segment as the RDK, with Ubuntu installed along with ROS2 Desktop, the Gazebo simulation environment, and the Rviz2 data visualization tool.
source /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash

Ubuntu 20.04 system and ROS2 Foxy Desktop

source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash

Ubuntu 22.04 system and ROS2 Humble Desktop

source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash

Ubuntu 24.04 system and ROS2 Jazzy Desktop

After successfully installing ROS2 on the PC, install Gazebo and the Turtlebot3-related packages using the following commands:

sudo apt-get install ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-gazebo-*
sudo apt install ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-turtlebot3
sudo apt install ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-turtlebot3-bringup
sudo apt install ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-turtlebot3-simulations
sudo apt install ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-teleop-twist-keyboard

Usage Guide​

RDK Platform​

This section describes how to run the SLAM algorithm on the RDK and observe the mapping results using a PC.

Start the simulation environment on the PC:

source /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash
source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
export TURTLEBOT3_MODEL=burger
ros2 launch turtlebot3_gazebo turtlebot3_world.launch.py
info

If the launch fails with the error [ERROR] [gzclient-2]: process has died, run the command source /usr/share/gazebo/setup.sh before launching again.

The simulation environment is shown below:

Open another terminal on the PC and launch Rviz2 to visualize the mapping effect:

source /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash
source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
ros2 launch turtlebot3_bringup rviz2.launch.py

After launching Rviz2, add the "map" visualization option to display the constructed map. Follow the steps shown below:

Run SLAM-Toolbox on the RDK board:

# Configure tros.b environment
source /opt/tros/setup.bash
# Configure tros.b environment
source /opt/tros/humble/setup.bash
# Configure tros.b environment
source /opt/tros/jazzy/setup.bash
# Launch SLAM launch file
ros2 launch slam_toolbox online_sync_launch.py

Open another terminal on the PC and launch the control tool to drive the robot using the keyboard. Refer to the console logs for control instructions (not detailed here):

source /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash
ros2 run teleop_twist_keyboard teleop_twist_keyboard
source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash
ros2 run teleop_twist_keyboard teleop_twist_keyboard
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
ros2 run teleop_twist_keyboard teleop_twist_keyboard --ros-args -p stamped:=True

As the robot moves, its radar detects more environmental information, and the SLAM algorithm builds an environmental map. The mapping effect can be observed in Rviz2.

Result Analysis​

The terminal output on the RDK board is as follows:

[INFO] [launch]: All log files can be found below /root/.ros/log/2022-06-10-06-40-34-204213-ubuntu-5390
[INFO] [launch]: Default logging verbosity is set to INFO
[INFO] [sync_slam_toolbox_node-1]: process started with pid [5392]
[sync_slam_toolbox_node-1] [INFO] [1654843239.403931058] [slam_toolbox]: Node using stack size 40000000
[sync_slam_toolbox_node-1] [INFO] [1654843240.092340814] [slam_toolbox]: Using solver plugin solver_plugins::CeresSolver
[sync_slam_toolbox_node-1] [INFO] [1654843240.096554433] [slam_toolbox]: CeresSolver: Using SCHUR_JACOBI preconditioner.
[sync_slam_toolbox_node-1] Info: clipped range threshold to be within minimum and maximum range!
[sync_slam_toolbox_node-1] [WARN] [1654843589.431524393] [slam_toolbox]: maximum laser range setting (20.0 m) exceeds the capabilities of the used Lidar (3.5 m)
[sync_slam_toolbox_node-1] Registering sensor: [Custom Described Lidar]
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