Expedition FredFactory DT-S

This repository contains a Dockerized development environment for ROS 2 Humble, specifically configured for xArm robotics projects. It is designed to maintain a consistent environment across different host systems (Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 24.04) and varying hardware configurations.

System Architecture

The environment utilizes a dual-layer workspace approach:

• [cite_start]Underlay (/opt/xarm_ws): Contains the core xarm_ros2 drivers, MoveIt 2, and hardware-specific dependencies, pre-built during the Docker image creation[cite: 1, 2, 4].
• Overlay (/ros2_ws): Your local workspace mapped from the host machine, used for custom packages and project-specific code.

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Prerequisites

1. Docker & Docker Compose

Ensure Docker and the Docker Compose plugin are installed on your host machine.

2. Hardware-Specific Drivers

Depending on your GPU, additional setup may be required:

Hardware	Requirement
NVIDIA GPU	Install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit.
AMD/Intel GPU	No additional toolkit needed; ensure the container has access to /dev/dri.
No GPU (Lab/Headless)	No hardware requirements; the system will fallback to CPU software rendering.

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Getting Started

1. Clone the Repository

git clone [https://github.com/Luiscaramos/Expedition_FredFactory_DT-S.git](https://github.com/Luiscaramos/Expedition_FredFactory_DT-S.git)
cd Expedition_FredFactory_DT-S

2. Build the Environment
```bash
sudo docker compose build

This command builds the ROS 2 Humble image and compiles the xArm drivers. This only needs to be run once or when the Dockerfile is modified.

3. Launch the Container

Use the provided automation script. This script detects your hardware and configures OpenGL rendering automatically.


```bash
chmod +x humble-go.sh
./humble-go.sh

Configuration Details
GPU Modes

The humble-go.sh script automatically manages the LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE environment variable:

    NVIDIA: Uses hardware acceleration via the NVIDIA Container Toolkit.

    General GPU (AMD/Intel): Uses host-side DRI device mapping.

    No GPU: Sets LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 to ensure RViz and Gazebo stability on lab machines without dedicated graphics.

Workspace Management

Your custom code should be placed in workspaces/<project_name>/src.
Inside the container, navigate to your project folder to build:

```bash
cd /ros2_ws/workspaces/project_1
colcon build --symlink-install
source install/setup.bash

Included Dependencies

The Docker image includes the following pre-installed stacks:

    ROS 2 Humble Desktop Full 

    MoveIt 2 

    Gazebo (Classic and ROS 2 Integration) 

    xArm ROS 2 Suite (Source build) 

    ros2_control & ros2_controllers 


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### Final Next Step
Now that your environment is fully documented and configured, **would you like me to walk you through the commands to push this entire project to your GitHub repository?**

Quick Access

```bash
echo "alias xarm-go='cd $(pwd) && ./humble-go.sh'" >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc