Hardware Tests

This runs hardware tests.

How to install

sudo apt install docker-compose
git clone https://github.com/DroneResponse/hardware-tests.git

How to build

This could take a few minuets. You need an Internet connection.

cd hardware-tests
docker-compose build
docker pull ros:noetic-ros-core

How to run tests

Start mavros

Start mavros in the background. First, enter the hardware-tests directory:

cd hardware-tests

Then use one of the following approaches.

1. If using the Jetson and mavros connects to PX4 using /dev/ttyUSB0 then run:

   docker-compose -f docker-compose.yaml -f docker-compose.jetson.yaml up -d mavros

2. If using the Simulator, then run:

   docker-compose -f docker-compose.yaml -f docker-compose.simulator.yaml up -d mavros

   This configures mavros to use udp-b://:14540@14580 and it forwards the UDP packets to the container.

Run the tests

Next run one or more tests:

docker-compose run --no-deps indoor_sensors
docker-compose run --no-deps sensors
docker-compose run --no-deps rc_failsafe
docker-compose run --no-deps gimbal
docker-compose run --no-deps arm
docker-compose run --no-deps hover
docker-compose run --no-deps box
docker-compose run --no-deps geofence

Notes:

• the hover test expect you to arm the drone using the RC controller
• the box test expect you to arm with the RC controller

Stop Mavros

When you're done, stop mavros:

docker-compose down

Running on the Intel Aero

These instructions walk you through the special setup that's required to run the hardware tests on the Intel Aero.

Install the latest version of Yacto Linux provided by Intel.

Connect the drone to the internet. Connect the drone to your WiFi network. If needed, fix DNS by editing /etc/resolv.conf:

vi /etc/resolv.conf

Add a line to the file, like so:

nameserver 192.168.1.1

Install a newer version of Docker

Install xz. Download the source tar ball to the drone. Extract it. Build it. Install it. For example:

wget --no-check-certificate  https://tukaani.org/xz/xz-5.2.5.tar.gz
tar xf xz-5.2.5.tar.gz 
cd xz-5.2.5
./configure
make
make install
xz --version

Install the docker binaries. Download the binaries from download.docker.com/linux/static/stable/. For example:

wget https://download.docker.com/linux/static/stable/x86_64/docker-20.10.9.tgz
tar xf docker-20.10.9.tgz 
systemctl stop docker
cp docker/* /usr/bin/
systemctl start docker

Install the docker compose binary plugin

Install the docker compose 2.X binary. Instructions here.

mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins
curl -SL https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v2.5.0/docker-compose-linux-x86_64 -o /usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
chmod +x /usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
docker compose version

Starting the programs

Start mavros in the background with:

docker compose -f docker-compose.yaml -f docker-compose.intel-aero.yaml up -d mavros

Then to run the tests:

docker compose run --no-deps indoor_sensors
docker compose run --no-deps sensors
docker compose run --no-deps rc_failsafe
docker compose run --no-deps gimbal
docker compose run --no-deps arm
docker compose run --no-deps hover
docker compose run --no-deps box
docker compose run --no-deps geofence

To stop mavros:

docker compose down

How to update files in place

Use these instructions if:

• you want to update a source file
• you're running these tests on the companion computer and you don't have internet (so you can't run docker build)

Change the files in the working directory.

Start mavros as you normally would:

1. If using the Jetson and mavros connects to PX4 using /dev/ttyUSB0 then run:

   docker-compose -f docker-compose.yaml -f docker-compose.jetson.yaml up -d mavros

2. If using the Simulator, then run:

   docker-compose -f docker-compose.yaml -f docker-compose.simulator.yaml up -d mavros

Next you have two options:

1. Use the dev_test service to run tests (this is the recommended option)
2. Run the tests in another service and copy the files by hand.

Use the dev_test service

When you're ready, run one or more tests using the dev_test service. This mounts the appropriate directories in the container, and gives you a bash shell where you can run the tests. Start the container with:

docker-compose run --no-deps dev_test

From within the bash shell that starts, you can run any of the tests with one of the following lines:

/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests arm.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests box.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests geofence.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests gimbal.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests hover.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests indoor_sensors.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests rc_failsafe.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests sensors.py

To make more changes, update the files in the host's file system and the container will see any changes immediately.

Update files by hand

Use docker-compose run to start a container to run tests with:

docker-compose run --no-deps hover bash

The example above starts the hover container, but since you're starting a bash shell, you can run every test from this container.

From another shell, use docker ps to find the test container's name:

docker ps --format "{{.ID}}\t{{.Image}}\t{{.Names}}"

In my case the output looks like this:

7e5994b03c77    hardware-tests_hover    hardware-tests_hover_run_8aec6ba25a1e
90ef760fa1c9    hardware-tests_mavros   hardware-tests_mavros_1
09b46f500770    hardware-tests_roscore  hardware-tests_roscore_1
1921a342ab27    hardware-tests_mavlink_router   hardware-tests_mavlink_router_1

Find the the name of the test container, in my case it's hardware-tests_hover_run_8aec6ba25a1e

Now use docker cp to move files from the host file system to the test container. These are the directories of note:

• The files in the nodes directory are found in the container at /opt/ros/noetic/lib/dr_hardware_tests
• The files in src/dr_hardware_tests/ are in the container at /opt/ros/noetic/lib/python3/dist-packages/dr_hardware_tests
• The launch files are in the container at /opt/ros/noetic/share/dr_hardware_tests/launch

For example, to update the file src/dr_hardware_tests/flight_predicate.py you would

1. Change src/dr_hardware_tests/flight_predicate.py using your favorite editor
2. Update the file with

   docker cp src/dr_hardware_tests/flight_predicate.py  hardware-tests_hover_run_8aec6ba25a1e:/opt/ros/noetic/lib/python3/dist-packages/dr_hardware_tests/flight_predicate.py

   The pattern is

   docker cp FILE_PATH CONTAINER_NAME:CONTAINER_PATH 

   In the example above

   FILE_PATH=src/dr_hardware_tests/flight_predicate.py
   CONTAINER_NAME=hardware-tests_hover_run_8aec6ba25a1e
   CONTAINER_PATH=/opt/ros/noetic/lib/python3/dist-packages/dr_hardware_tests/flight_predicate.py
   

After you've updated all the files, you can run one or more tests using the shell you ran docker run from.

For example, here are all the tests you could run:

/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests arm.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests box.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests geofence.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests gimbal.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests hover.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests indoor_sensors.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests rc_failsafe.py
/ros_entrypoint.sh rosrun dr_hardware_tests sensors.py

Old Readme

The rest of these docs are somewhat outdated now.

TODO: update everything after this line.

How to run tests

First, start mavros:

roslaunch dr_hardware_tests mavros.launch

Next run the hardware tests

rosrun dr_hardware_tests indoor_sensors.py
rosrun dr_hardware_tests sensors.py
rosrun dr_hardware_tests arm.py
rosrun dr_hardware_tests hover.py

Install PX4

Please download the latest stable release of PX4 (works with our project) using the following command:

git clone --recurse-submodules --branch v1.12.3 https://github.com/PX4/PX4-Autopilot.git

How to run tests connecting to a serial device

We are using docker to run the tests on a Jetson. Docker has been installed on the Jetson to be used for the first drone using this documentation. A docker image named test containing all the necessary packages and the code has also been built on that Jetson. Using that image, the code can be run using the following instructions:

In a terminal, we need to execute the following command to run the docker image and enter a docker container:

sudo docker run --rm -it --device=/dev/ttyUSB0 test

The terminal will enter the docker container's work directory which is catkin_ws. The terminal should show something similar to root@c5b2f3541681:/catkin_ws#. We need to copy the hostname. Then in a separate terminal, the following command needs to be executed:

sudo docker exec -it c5b2f3541681 bash

Then the second terminal will also enter the same docker container. /dev/ttyUSB0 test is used for serial USB connection. For other types of connection, this is a good reference. USB connection can be verified by this command:

ls /dev/ttyUSB*

To run the code, in the first terminal, launch the mavros and ROS master using this command:

roslaunch dr_hardware_tests mavros.launch

The launch file is located under catkin_ws/src/dr_hardware_tests/launch/mavros.launch. The code has been tested using a baud-rate of 921600 following the instructions on this documentation. For any other baud rate, the following line in the launch file needs to be modified:

<arg name="fcu_url" default="/dev/ttyUSB0:921600"/>

In the second terminal, the tests can be run using these commands:

rosrun dr_hardware_tests indoor_sensors.py
rosrun dr_hardware_tests sensors.py
rosrun dr_hardware_tests arm.py
rosrun dr_hardware_tests hover.py
rosrun dr_hardware_tests box.py

If there are changes to the code in the repository, the following instructions can be followed to create a new docker image.

The Dockerfile is copying a work directory named catkin_ws which is on the Jetson's home directory. In catkin/src/dr_hardware_tests, the code needs to be updated. The easiest way to do it is to delete the old dr_hardware_tests directory, copy the hardware-tests directory and rename it to dr_hardware_tests. Then the following commands can be used to build the new image.

sudo docker build .

After a successful build, the image will have an id similar to c5b2f3541681. For ease of use, we can tag it to something (e.g. test) using this command:

sudo docker tag c5b2f3541681 test

If the change needs to be made is minor, an easier way is to change the code inside the docker container. This will require the change to be made every time the docker image is run. The change can be made using vim editor which is installed in the container. So the launch file can be edited by navigating to catkin_ws/src/dr_hardware_tests/launch/ and then running:

sudo vim mavros.launch

Install MQTT

Install the mosquitto MQTT broker on the Jetpack on Jetson (Not on docker).

sudo apt-get install mosquitto
sudo apt-get install mosquitto-clients