Installing ROS Melodic on Ubuntu 20.04 is a straightforward process that allows you to harness the power of the Robot Operating System for your robotics projects. As someone who has worked with ROS extensively, I can assure you that it’s a fantastic platform for developing and controlling robots.
Step 1: Set up your Ubuntu 20.04 system
To begin the installation, make sure you have a clean installation of Ubuntu 20.04 on your system. If you haven’t installed Ubuntu yet, I recommend following the official installation guide provided by Canonical. Once you have a fresh Ubuntu 20.04 installation up and running, you’re ready to proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Set up the ROS repository
ROS Melodic is not included in the default Ubuntu repositories, so we need to add the ROS repository to our system. Open a terminal and run the following commands:
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install curl
$ curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ros/rosdistro/master/ros.asc | sudo apt-key add -
$ sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://packages.ros.org/ros/ubuntu focal main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ros-latest.list'
Step 3: Install ROS Melodic
With the ROS repository set up, you can now proceed to install ROS Melodic. Run the following commands in the terminal:
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install ros-melodic-desktop
This will install the core ROS packages, along with some commonly used tools and libraries. It might take a while, depending on your internet speed.
Step 4: Set up the ROS environment
After the installation is complete, you need to set up the ROS environment. Run the following command in the terminal:
$ echo "source /opt/ros/melodic/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
$ source ~/.bashrc
This command adds the necessary sourcing command to your .bashrc file, which ensures that the ROS environment is set up every time you open a new terminal.
Step 5: Verify the installation
Once the installation and environment setup are complete, you can verify that ROS Melodic is installed correctly. Open a new terminal and run the following command:
$ rosversion -d
If everything is set up correctly, you should see the output melodic, indicating that ROS Melodic is installed and working properly on your Ubuntu 20.04 system.
Conclusion
Installing ROS Melodic on Ubuntu 20.04 allows you to unlock the full potential of the Robot Operating System for your robotics projects. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can set up a powerful development environment that will help you build and control robots with ease. So go ahead, dive into the world of ROS, and let your imagination run wild!