There are two ROS2 nodes included in the groundstation software:
asv_status
: A GUI application that allows you to monitor the vehicle, enable/disable recording of ZED2 and telemetry data on the vehicle, and see the camera stream. Below is a screenshot of asv_status in action:
The items under System Status indicate the state of requirements necessary to enable recording of data. The system must sucessfully:
- Receive a GPS time source
- Attain a GPS fix
- Find a valid location to store data in (as configured in recorder.yaml)
- Successfully initialize the camera
Once all status elements read "OK" and the Recording Status
on the right says "READY", you will be able to enable/disable recording by clicking the Enable Recording
checkbox.
mockbot
: An application that mimics the software running on the vehicle that can be used with asv_status
to see how it works. Run this alongside asv_status
on your desktop to get a preview of what will happen when the vehicle software is running.
Additionally, the user is expected to use QGroundControl
, a Qt-based Drone ground control station application, to configure and plan missions for the vehicle. For more information visit:
Similarly to on the vehicle, you can use the ROS2 command line utilities to interact with any of the ROS2 nodes:
# Source the ROS2 Underlay
source /opt/ros/foxy/setup.bash
# Some commands
ros2 topic list
ros2 topic echo "gps"