Installation / Setup

Step-by-step guide to set up MAVROS for live MAVLINK data visualization.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you meet the following requirements:

Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
Sudo Permissions: You must have administrative privileges.

Required Packages: Install the following packages using apt:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install git wget curl make build-essential python3 python3-pip

NOTE: Some commands may require user verification. Please accept or continue when prompted during execution.

Step 1: Install PX4 and ROS 2

Set Up PX4 Environment:
1. Go to the Install PX4 section.
2. Scroll to "Set up a PX4 development environment on Ubuntu."
  1. Copy and paste the provided command block.
Download and Install ROS 2:
- Go to the Install ROS 2 section.
- Follow steps one and two to install ROS 2 Humble. Note: This process may take several minutes.

Stop at the "Setup Micro XRCE-DDS Agent & Client" section.

Step 2: Install MAVROS

To install MAVROS, follow the official instructions.

In my case, I used the following commands:

cd ~
sudo apt install ros-humble-mavros ros-humble-mavros-extras
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mavlink/mavros/ros2/mavros/scripts/install_geographiclib_datasets.sh
sudo sh install_geographiclib_datasets.sh

Step 3: Clone UROC ROS Node

To clone the UROC ROS node, copy and paste the following command block below into your terminal.

mkdir -p ~/ros2_ws/src
cd ~/ros2_ws/src
git clone https://github.com/cdenihan/uroc-ros-package
cd ..
sudo rosdep init
rosdep update
rosdep install -i --from-path src --rosdistro humble -y

Step 4: Download QGroundControl

Go to the Ubuntu Linux section and follow the steps up to the Android section.

Here are the commands I used:

# Download the x86_64 QGroundControl
cd ~
curl -O https://d176tv9ibo4jno.cloudfront.net/builds/master/QGroundControl-x86_64.AppImage

# Make the file executable
chmod +x QGroundControl-x86_64.AppImage

# Add user to dialout group
sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER
sudo apt-get remove modemmanager -y

Reboot your system to apply the user permission changes.

It is advised to download the AppImage into your home directory to match the steps these directions follow

Step 5: Enable Port Forwarding in QGroundControl

To enable port forwarding in QGroundControl:

Launch QGroundControl:
```
cd ~
./QGroundControl-x86_64.AppImage
```
Follow the steps in the screenshots below to enable port forwarding:

Due to a recent QGroundControl UI update, the MAVLINK forwarding configuration is now located in the telemetry tab.

You may now close QGroundControl.

Step 6 (Option 1): Install PlotJuggler

Install PlotJuggler by following the official instructions for Ubuntu 22.04 with ROS2 support.

I used the following command:

sudo snap install plotjuggler

Step 6 (Option 2): Set Up Foxglove

Part 1: Install Foxglove Desktop

To install Foxglove, use the instructions below:

Download - FoxgloveFoxglove

I used these commands:

cd ~/Downloads
sudo apt install ./foxglove-studio-*.deb
sudo apt update && sudo apt install foxglove-studio

Part 2: Install Foxglove Bridge

Follow the instructions here to install Foxglove Bridge.

I ran this command:

sudo apt install ros-humble-foxglove-bridge

Step 7: Test the Setup

Open four terminal windows and run the following commands in each:

Terminal 1: Start PX4 with Gazebo

cd PX4-Autopilot/
make px4_sitl gz_x500

Terminal 2: Launch QGroundControl

cd ~
./QGroundControl-x86_64.AppImage

Terminal 3: Start MAVROS

ros2 run mavros mavros_node --ros-args -p fcu_url:=udp://:14540@127.0.0.1:14557 -p target_component_id:=1 -r __ns:=/mavros

Launch Foxglove or PlotJuggler

Depending on your needs, you may use either Foxglove or PlotJuggler.

To run Foxglove, use the following command in a fourth terminal:

cd ~/ros2_ws && colcon build --packages-select uroc && source install/local_setup.bash && ros2 run uroc visualize

And in a fifth terminal:

ros2 launch foxglove_bridge foxglove_bridge_launch.xml

And lastly in a sixth terminal run this command

foxglove-studio "foxglove://open?ds=foxglove-websocket&ds.url=ws://localhost:8765/"

To run PlotJuggler, use this command in a fourth terminal:

plotjuggler

Step 8: (PlotJuggler Only):

To visualize live data in PlotJuggler:

Click the Start button under the "Streaming" section on the left side of the screen.
Ensure "ROS Topic Subscriber" is selected.
Click the start button and select the desired topics to subscribe to.

Step 9 (Optional): Use Helper Script

If you haven't noticed by now, you have to open a lot of terminals up. This can result in a mess appearing on your screen. To fix this a "helper script" was written. This script automates all of this into a single command.

Below is an example of how you would use this script:

# To start Foxglove data visualization tooling
python3 mavinsight.py --foxglove

# To start PlotJuggler data visualization tooling
python3 mavinsight.py --plotjuggler

Installation:

There isn't really an "installation" for this script. You are just downloading it to a location of your choice. In the steps below, we will be downloading it to our home directory ($HOME).

cd ~
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cdenihan/MAVInsight/refs/heads/production/mavinsight.py

Then we can run the script as long as we are in our home directory and call it like demonstrated above.

Last updated 7 days ago