Question About my Pi5 Setup for Create3

[slowrunner]

@alain-lnpcrd asked about my Pi5 configuration for running with Create3 #472 (comment)

I have the impression that you have automated a lot of things for the RPi5 under bookworm (but maybe I'm just imagining things). So your directory, do you install it under your home folder or in a docker container? Do you then run a shell program that will install everything properly? ...
This is just to start correctly.

Like I told you there - I FIRMLY do not believe anyone should try to follow my path. If you have a specific question about something you think might be useful, I'll consider it.

My robot controller is indeed running the Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm Desktop (which does not have ROS support),
and follows a basic Raspberry Pi / Linux pattern of using crontab and systemd to start things:

Crontab at boot starts my "life logger"

@reboot sleep 10  && /usr/bin/python3 /home/pi/wali_pi5/plib/cleanlifelog.py
@reboot sleep 15  && /home/pi/wali_pi5/utils/nohup_loglife.sh
0 * * * * /usr/bin/python3 /home/pi/wali_pi5/plib/cleanlifelog.py

And systemd starts services:

• ip_feedback.service: IP address spoken by text to speech engine

[Unit]
Description=IP Feedback on Boot
After=syslog.target network.target


[Service]
Type=simple
user=pi
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/
ExecStart=/bin/bash /home/pi/wali_pi5/utils/ip_feedback.sh

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

and starts:

• docker.r2hdp.service: "ROS 2 Humble Desktop Plus" Docker container

[Unit]
Description=ROS 2 Humble Desktop Plus For WaLi Service
After=syslog.target network.target


[Service]
Type=simple
user=pi
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/wali_pi5/c3ws
# Stop r2hdp container (if running)
ExecStartPre=-/usr/bin/docker stop r2hdp
# Remove the r2hdp container (if exists)
ExecStartPre=-/usr/bin/docker rm r2hdp
# Wait to allow life logging to start up at boot time
ExecStartPre=/bin/sleep 60
# Start r2hdp detached (which runs start_wali.sh)
ExecStart=/bin/bash /home/pi/wali_pi5/configs/docker/start_docker_detached_r2hdp.sh

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

The start_docker_detached_r2hdp.sh script actually starts Docker:

#!/bin/bash

cd /home/pi/wali_pi5/c3ws
# --rm removes container after exit
# --w working dir to start in
echo -e "\n*** STARTING ROS 2 HUMBLE PLUS IN DOCKER ***"
# docker run -dit --name r2hdp --net=host --device /dev/snd \
docker run -dit --name r2hdp --net=host \
 -v /dev/snd:/dev/snd \
 -v /home/pi:/home/pi -v /dev/input:/dev/input \
 -v /dev/bus/usb:/dev/bus/usb  \
 -e TZ=America/New_York \
 -w /home/pi/wali_pi5/c3ws --privileged r2hdp 
# -v /dev/bus/usb:/dev/bus/usb  -w /home/pi/wali_pi5/c3ws --privileged --rm r2hdp &

which runs the start_wali.sh script:

#!/bin/bash

# This script is run when Docker container r2hdp starts
echo -e "START_WALI.SH EXECUTING"
cd /home/pi/wali_pi5/c3ws
source install/setup.bash

echo -e "\n*** Start F710 game controller node"
echo '*** ros2 launch teleop_twist_joy teleop-launch.py joy_config:="F710" '
ros2 launch teleop_twist_joy teleop-launch.py joy_config:="F710" &

echo -e "\n*** Start odometer node"
echo '*** ros2 run wali odometer & '
ros2 run wali odometer &

echo -e "\n*** Start wali.say_node"
echo '*** ros2 run wali say_node &'
ros2 run wali say_node &

echo -e "\n **** STARTING ir2scan "
echo -e "executing: ros2 run wali ir2scan &"
ros2 run wali ir2scan &

# MUST START IN FOREGROUND or docker will exit!
ros2 run wali wali_node

# Use ./attach_to_docker_r2hdp.sh to connect to this terminal
# Use .term_to_r2hdp.sh to open a new terminal session 
#    in the ROS 2 Humble Desktop Plus container

NOTE: THIS IS NOT GOOD ROS PRACTICE - Wali should be a lifecycle node with a launch file, but I don't know how to do that, so for the time being I just run most nodes in the background, and run the wali_node in foreground so the Docker container won't quit.

I am not going to help you install "Wali" on your Pi5 - ain't going to happen.

You mentioned you are over 70, feeling pressure of advancing age, and the concept of elder care robots. I have a lot of thoughts on these topics, but since this forum is about the Create3 - projects and problems, I will simply tell you that I am also over 70 and have no delusions that I am capable of writing any software for the Create3 robot that will perform any function useful to me (or my wife). (The only slightly useful function of my other 24/7 robot, Carl, is responding to "Hey Carl, weather?" which I certainly did not NEED to build a robot to accomplish.

[alain-lnpcrd]

Thanks @slowrunner
There is a lot of information that interests me in what you send me.
Currently I'm going through the turtlebot4 documentation and I'm encountering a great bug (perhaps linked to my humble configuration) in the examples given in turtlebot4-python-tutorials (turtlebot4/turtlebot4-tutorials) relating to the functioning of the feedback of the actions launched. Basically, the feedback does not accompany the action, or even the feedback ends before the action starts.
But I am unable to understand and fix the bug. I am still very far from having the knowledge.