RSX Arm ROS2 Migration (Jazzy) - 2025/26

Welcome to arm-ros2! This repository will host the ROS 2 (Jazzy) version of the RSX arm control software, migrated from the arm/ folder in the old ROS 1 rsx-rover repo. Proceed with caution.

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following:

• Ubuntu 24.04
• ROS 2 Jazzy fully installed and sourced (https://docs.ros.org/en/jazzy/Installation.html)

Get the essential tools:

sudo apt install python3-colcon-common-extensions python3-rosdep python3-vcstool

Initialize rosdep (once per machine):

sudo rosdep init
rosdep update

Game Plan

Workspace Setup

1. Create a new workspace

mkdir -p ~/arm_ros2_ws/src
cd ~/arm_ros2_ws

2. Clone this repository

cd src
git clone https://github.com/rsx-utoronto/arm-ros2.git

3. Install dependencies listed in package.xml

cd ~/arm_ros2_ws
rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y

4. Set up a Python Virtual Environment We'll isolate all Python dependencies (outside ROS) in a virtual environment.

sudo apt install python3-venv
python3 -m venv arm_env
source arm_env/bin/activate

Then add this to your .bashrc

alias workon_arm="cd ~/arm_ros2_ws && source arm_env/bin/activate && source install/setup.bash"

Now whenever you run workon_arm you will be able to get into the environment. To exit it just run:

deactivate

5. Build the workspace

colcon build --symlink-install

6. Source the setup files

source install/setup.bash

Note: Remember to Track Python Dependencies!!!

Create a requirements.txt in the repo root that looks like this:

numpy==[version]
scipy
geometry_msgs
rclpy

And then, add any dependencies you discover as you port the code. Install them inside the venv with:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Proposed Structure

arm-ros2/
├── arm_ros2/              # ROS 2 Python Package
│   ├── arm_controller.py  # <- migrated version
│   ├── __init__.py
├── launch/
│   ├── arm.launch.py      # <- migrated launch file
├── msg/
│   ├── ArmStatus.msg      # <- if used
├── srv/
│   ├── ArmIK.srv          # <- if used
├── setup.py
├── setup.cfg
├── package.xml
├── requirements.txt

Proposed Migration Workflow

1. Analyze the Original arm/ Folder

• Identify ROS 1 Python nodes using rospy.
• Note topics, services, parameters, dependencies, and launch files.
• Document dependencies in package.xml.

2. Set Up ROS 2 Package

• Rename package (e.g., arm_ros2) and update metadata in package.xml and setup.py.
• Add necessary ROS 2 dependencies: rclpy, std_msgs, etc.

3. Migrate Nodes Incrementally For each ROS 1 node:

• Create ROS 2 Python version using rclpy and ROS 2 APIs.
• Add entry point in setup.py:

entry_points={
    'console_scripts': [
        'arm_controller = arm_ros2.arm_controller:main',
    ],
},

• Build, source, and test with:

cd ~/arm_ros2_ws
colcon build
source install/setup.bash
ros2 run arm_ros2 arm_controller

4. Migrate Launch Files Convert .launch to .launch.py, using ROS 2 conventions:

from launch import LaunchDescription
from launch_ros.actions import Node

def generate_launch_description():
    return LaunchDescription([
        Node(package='arm_ros2', executable='mynode', name='mynode'),
    ])

5. Add Custom Messages/Services/Actions If migrating custom msg/, srv/, or action/ files:

• Place definitions in the respective ROS 2 directories.
• Update package.xml and CMakeLists.txt.
• Rebuild and import accordingly in nodes.

Team Workflow

• Work only in this repository (arm-ros2); keep rsx-rover as a reference.
• Use feature branches for each node migration.
• Submit PRs and conduct peer reviews before merging.
• After migrating each node:
  • Build:

    colcon build

  • Source:

    source install/setup.bash

  • Run & test:

    ros2 run arm_ros2 <node>
    ros2 topic echo /<topic>

• Track progress with an issue board (e.g., "Migrate node X", "Convert launch file Y").

Collaboration Code of Conduct:

1. Engineering Specification and Background Research (FOCs, Research into task)
2. Candidate Designs
   • Don’t need a final design, block diagrams with explanation are fine
3. Final Design
   • Can be one of the previous two designs or something all new based on learned
   • Can be a block diagram with research and explanation

<<<<<<< HEAD Example: (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1crGv72SZPlyTfEEYrCo4EamMKkqWRGyadf1QlVXck3k/edit?tab=t.0)

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59f99f9969848484fd33e52f05aab95b684c6208

Resources

Feel free to add any resources here:

1. Renard, E. (2024). ROS 2 from scratch : get started with ROS 2 and create robotics applications with Python and C++ (1st edition.). Packt Publishing Ltd. (Access through UofT library)
2. How to make a requirements.txt: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/python/how-to-create-requirements-txt-file-in-python/
3. Python virtual environment stuff: https://medium.com/ros2-tips-and-tricks/running-ros2-nodes-in-a-python-virtual-environment-b31c1b863cdb