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Recommended Workstation Specifications

Minimum Hardware Requirements​

CPU​

  • Recommended: Multi-core processor (Intel i7 or AMD Ryzen 7)
  • Minimum: Quad-core processor with 2.5 GHz clock speed
  • Note: Robotics simulations are CPU-intensive, especially for physics calculations

RAM​

  • Recommended: 32 GB DDR4 RAM
  • Minimum: 16 GB DDR4 RAM
  • Note: Gazebo and Isaac Sim simulations require significant memory

Graphics Card​

  • Recommended: NVIDIA RTX 3060 or higher with 8GB+ VRAM
  • Minimum: NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD equivalent with 6GB+ VRAM
  • Requirements:
    • OpenGL 3.3+ support
    • CUDA support for Isaac Sim (NVIDIA cards)
    • Dedicated GPU for simulation rendering

Storage​

  • Recommended: 1 TB SSD
  • Minimum: 500 GB SSD
  • Note: SSDs significantly improve build and simulation performance

Operating System​

  • Required: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)
  • Alternative: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) with ROS2 compatibility

Software Requirements​

ROS2 Distribution​

  • Recommended: ROS2 Humble Hawksbill (LTS)
  • Alternative: ROS2 Iron Irwini (for newer features)

Development Tools​

  • Build System: colcon
  • Package Manager: apt, pip, conda
  • IDE Options:
    • Visual Studio Code with ROS extension
    • CLion for C++ development
    • PyCharm for Python development

Simulation Environments​

  • Gazebo: Garden or Fortress
  • Isaac Sim: Latest version compatible with your GPU
  • Docker: For containerized development environments

Cloud Alternatives​

AWS RoboMaker​

  • Managed service for robotics applications
  • Integration with ROS/ROS2
  • Simulation capabilities
  • Development and deployment tools

Google Cloud Platform​

  • Compute Engine instances with GPU support
  • Container-Optimized OS for robotics workloads
  • Integration with ML/AI services

Azure IoT Robotics​

  • Cloud-based robotics services
  • Simulation and testing environments
  • Integration with Azure AI services

Container-Based Development​

Docker Setup​

# Install Docker
sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker.io
sudo usermod -a -G docker $USER
  • osrf/ros:humble-desktop-full - Full ROS2 Humble installation
  • nvidia/cuda:11.8-devel-ubuntu22.04 - CUDA development environment

Docker Compose for Robotics Development​

version: '3.8'
services:
  ros2-dev:
    image: osrf/ros:humble-desktop-full
    container_name: ros2-humble-dev
    environment:
      - DISPLAY=${DISPLAY}
      - QT_X11_NO_MITSHM=1
    volumes:
      - /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix:rw
      - .:/workspace
    network_mode: host
    stdin_open: true
    tty: true

Setup Checklist​

Before Installation​

  • Verify hardware meets minimum requirements
  • Backup existing system if applicable
  • Ensure stable internet connection for downloads
  • Allocate sufficient time (2-4 hours for full setup)

Installation Process​

  • Install Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
  • Update system packages
  • Install ROS2 Humble
  • Install Gazebo simulation environment
  • Install Isaac Sim (if applicable)
  • Configure development environment
  • Test basic ROS2 functionality

Post-Installation Verification​

  • Verify ROS2 installation: ros2 --version
  • Test basic ROS2 commands: ros2 run demo_nodes_cpp talker
  • Verify Gazebo installation: gazebo --version
  • Test basic simulation environment
  • Confirm all required packages are accessible

Troubleshooting Common Issues​

ROS2 Installation Issues​

  • Ensure correct Ubuntu version is installed
  • Verify system locale settings (should be UTF-8)
  • Check internet connectivity and proxy settings

Graphics/Simulation Issues​

  • Verify GPU drivers are correctly installed
  • Check OpenGL support: glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"
  • Ensure proper X11 forwarding for GUI applications

Performance Optimization​

  • Increase swap space for memory-intensive simulations
  • Configure CPU governor for performance mode
  • Consider using zram for additional virtual memory

Additional Resources​

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