Spot ROS

The Spot robot comes with its own Spot SDK from Boston Dynamics, available in Python3 and C++. However, there is a ROS package that allows you to trigger most functionality of the robot using ROS messages, services and actions.

Installing the ROS package follows the same process as any other ROS package; git clone the repository, install dependencies, then build the package. Instructions from the Github Pages is here. It is recommended to use ROS Noetic for Python3 compatibility. Use a Docker container to get the correct ROS distro setup with all the distro-specific packages.

First, setup your catkin workspace, if you haven't already. Then, download the source code.

mkdir -p ~/catkin_ws/src
source /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash
git clone https://github.com/heuristicus/spot_ros.git ~/catkin/src/spot_ros

Next, install the required dependencies with `rosdep`.

sudo apt install -y python3-rosdep
rosdep install --from-paths ~/catkin_ws/src --ignore-src -y

Build the package with `catkin build`.

cd ~/catkin_ws/src
catkin build

Source the built package.

source ~/catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash

Alternatively, you can make use of pre-built Docker images generated by the CI pipeline.

The ROS package has certain parameters that can be configured in `spot_driver/config/spot_ros.yaml`.

Here are some examples on how to make use of the spot_ros package in an external ROS node, to control the robot.

<code>
// Sample code for example 1
</code>

<code>
// Sample code for example 2
</code>

In this section, provide common issues and their resolutions.

Problem 1: Description of problem 1 Solution: Description of solution for problem 1 Problem 2: Description of problem 2 Solution: Description of solution for problem 2

Here, list common questions and their answers.

Question 1: Description of question 1 Answer: Description of answer for question 1 Question 2: Description of question 2 Answer: Description of answer for question 2

This section includes links to additional documentation, tutorials, and other resources.

Resource 1 Resource 2 Resource 3