How To Install ROS2 Humble Base On Raspberry Pi 4B (FULL INSTALL)
Learn how to install ros-humble-ros-base on Raspberry pi 4B running Ubuntu 22.04 LTS server
If you'll be building intelligent robotics applications, chances are you’ll want the power of ROS2 running on a compact, efficient platform like the Raspberry Pi 4B. This guide walks you through the complete process of setting up ROS2 Humble on on a Raspberry Pi running Ubuntu 22.04 Server — from the initial installation to configuring essential tools like colcon and rosdep. By the end, you'll be ready to develop and deploy robust robotics applications on this versatile microcomputer.
Let’s dive in and get your Pi humming with ROS2!
Prerequisite
First ensure you have the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS server installed on the Raspberry Pi 4B (2GB, 4GB, or 8GB. The higher, the better)
Also, if you did headless installation, you should be able to communicate with the Pi from your Dev PC via SSH.
Installing ROS Humble Base (not Desktop)
Follow the instructions (step by step) to install ros-humble-ros-base (not desktop) on your Raspberry Pi.
Set locale
locale # check for UTF-8 sudo apt update && sudo apt install locales sudo locale-gen en_US en_US.UTF-8 sudo update-locale LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8 LANG=en_US.UTF-8 export LANG=en_US.UTF-8 locale # verify settingsSetup sources
sudo apt install software-properties-common sudo add-apt-repository universe sudo apt update && sudo apt install curl -y sudo curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ros/rosdistro/master/ros.key -o /usr/share/keyrings/ros-archive-keyring.gpg echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/ros-archive-keyring.gpg] http://packages.ros.org/ros2/ubuntu $(. /etc/os-release && echo $UBUNTU_CODENAME) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ros2.list > /dev/nullInstall ros2 humble (i.e ros-humble-ros-base)
sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade sudo apt install ros-humble-ros-baseInstall all the necessary ROS2 development tools - rosdep, colcon, vcs-tool, etc.
sudo apt install ros-dev-toolsNext, add the following command to the
.bashrcfile to enable automatic sourcing of the ros humble environment and installed whenever you open a new terminal.source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash echo "source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
Setting up colcon for Building ROS2 packages
colcon is a build tool required to build your ROS2 packages created in your ros workspace. It was already installed when you ran the sudo apt install ros-dev-tools command prevoiusly. but you can also install it using sudo apt install python3-colcon-common-extensions
But we need to set it up for things like tab completion. Run the following command in your terminal.
Setup colcon_cd
echo "source /usr/share/colcon_cd/function/colcon_cd.sh" >> ~/.bashrc echo "export _colcon_cd_root=/opt/ros/humble/" >> ~/.bashrcSetup colcon tab completion
echo "source /usr/share/colcon_argcomplete/hook/colcon-argcomplete.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
With all the above added to the .bashrc file, the colcon environment and functions will be automatically activated whenever you open a new terminal as well as automatic sourcing of the ros-humble environment.
Intializing rosdep
rosdep is a dependency management utility that can work with packages and external libraries. It is a command line utility for identifying and installing dependencies to build or install a package.
It is most often invoked before before building a package with colcon. It will basiclally download and installing the necessary dependencies a specified in the package.xmlfile so you don't have to manually install each dependencies again.
rosdep was already installed when you ran the sudo apt install ros-dev-tools command previously. but you can also install it using sudo apt install python3-rosdep
Follow the instructions below to instialize rosdep:
sudo apt update
sudo rosdep init #NOTE:this might give an error, do not worry, just continue
rosdep updateInstall setuptools For Building ROS2 Python Packages
sudo apt install python3-pip
pip3 install setuptools==58.2.0Creating A ROS2 Workspace
In the root folder of your Raspberry Pi (i.e the home directory)
In the root folder of your Raspberry Pi (i.e the home directory), create a ros workspace folder. I would be using this workspace name -
ros-ws.mkdir -p ~/ros-ws/srcchange directory into the root ros workspace folder
cd ~/ros-wsbuild the ros workspace initially with colcon (while still in the root workspace folder)
colcon buildyou should now see three other folders - build, install, and log - apart from the src folder already created earlier. Run
lsto see them in terminalLet's setup automatic sourcing for the created workspace -
ros-ws- in the.bashrcfile so that it is automatically sourced whenever you open a new terminal. Run this in terminal:echo "source ~/ros-ws/install/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
Test with helloworld package
Open a new terminal (to auto source your ros2 environment and workspace) and cd into your ros workspace's src folder
cd ~/ros-ws/srcClone this ros2 helloworld cpp and python package
git clone https://github.com/samuko-things/helloworld_ros2.gitChange directory into the root ros workspace folder
cd ~/ros-wsOptionally, run rosdep to install the packge dependencies specified in the package's
package.xmlfilerosdep install -i --from-path src --rosdistro humble -yBuild the package with colcon
colcon build --symlink-installOpen two seperate terminals. In one of the terminals, run a c++ node:
ros2 run helloworld_ros2 talkerIn the other terminal, run a python node:
ros2 run helloworld_ros2 listener.py
Optional (Install Cyclone DDS)
If you would be using ROS2 for navigation and some other high speed data transfer, install and use the Cyclone DDS in place of the default Fast DDS.
sudo apt install ros-humble-rmw-cyclonedds-cpp
export RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_cyclonedds_cpp
echo "export RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_cyclonedds_cpp" >> ~/.bashrcLast updated