ReFlex SF Quickstart

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Setting up the software

 

These instructions assume you are using a fresh install of Ubuntu 14.04

1) Install ROS according to the official ROS instructions for Ubuntu
2) Follow the ROS tutorials to set up your catkin workspace and configure your ROS install

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OR

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run the following lines to set up a basic workspace quickly.

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echo 'source /opt/ros/jade/setup.bash' >> ~/.bashrc

source ~/.bashrc

mkdir -p ~/catkin_ws/src

cd ~/catkin_ws/src

catkin_init_workspace

cd ~/catkin_ws

catkin_make

echo 'source ~/catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash' >> ~/.bashrc

source ~/.bashrc

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If you create your catkin workspace with our code, it's recommended that you check out the ROS tutorials later. They go step by step through the basic abilities of ROS, while at the same time give you ways to check that everything works.

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Whether you've created your catkin workspace through the ROS tutorials or through our code pasted from above, it is recommended that you run the following lines. It's important to make sure that your catkin workspace setup document is in your bashrc before any ROS code will run.

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echo 'source ~/catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash' >> ~/.bashrc

source ~/.bashrc

 

Download the ROS package

If you do not have git installed then install it:

 

sudo apt-get install git git-core

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Add your user to the dialout group. If you don't do this, you will get messages saying you don't have permission to open the USB port. Make sure to insert your username in the appropriate spot, replacing 'your_username'. If you're unsure on your username, visit this site: cyberciti.biz/faq/appleosx-bsd-shell-script-get-current-user/

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sudo adduser your_username dialout

 

Clone the RightHand Robotics code

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cd ~/catkin_ws/src/

git clone https://github.com/arebgun/dynamixel_motor.git

git clone https://github.com/RightHandRobotics/reflex-ros-pkg.git

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It's important to clone the folder into the src/ folder of your catkin workspace, or somewhere downstream of that, so that the code can be compiled with catkin_make.

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Run the basic driver code

 

1) Make the host-side driver code
If you have problems getting catkin_make to work it's recommended to go through the ROS tutorials from the beginning. You might have missed a small step somewhere, and they lay it all out clearly. You can also visit our installing and building a package page for tips.

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cd ~/catkin_ws/

catkin_make

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Ignore any errors you see about tf and deprecated Quaternion usage. The tf code is from an older tutorial (hence the warning) but still works.

Check that all the necessary packages are available by trying to find the ReFlex ROS packages:

 

rospack find reflex_driver

rospack find reflex_msgs

rospack find reflex

 

If catkin_make worked, each rospack call should return the folder location of the package.

 

2) Power the hand!
We recommend using the 12V power supply that came with the hand. 

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3) Now plug the USB cable from the hand into your computer.

 

4) Run the driver code:

 

roslaunch reflex reflex_sf.launch

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It should look like so:

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