🎮 How to Get Started

Install Prerequisites

Universal Dependencies:

• Unreal Engine 5
• Git
• CMake (You may need to restart your computer after downloading CMake for it to properly work.)

If Using Autonomy:

• Autonomy Software

Windows Dependencies:

• Visual Studio 2022

Linux Dependencies:

Assistance for Linux Setup: Setup on Linux

• Dotnet SDK

• clang and libc++

  In order to build the project with RoveComm_CPP, you will need to install the clang compiler and libc++ standard. If you are on a Debian-based system the following bash commands should install them:

    sudo apt update
    sudo apt install libc++-dev libc++abi-dev clang 
  

Clone the Repository

• Next you will want to install Diversion here: Diversion. Create an account with whatever email you want to use, and install Diversion following the instructions for your OS. After you have created an account, message the Simulation Lead on Discord that you would like to help contribute as well as your email, and we will get you added to the repository.

• Once you are added to the repo, you will want to clone it onto your machine. It is over 40GB, so it may take some time to be fully downloaded on your machine.

• After it is cloned, you will want to install the Diversion Unreal Engine Plugin found here: Unreal Plugin. If you are on Windows, follow the instructions on the plugin’s website to download and add the plugin to UE. If you are on Linux please proceed to this page: Setup on Linux

• After everything is downloaded, you should be able to open RoveSoSimulator on your install of Unreal Engine.

Troubleshooting Cloning

• Before moving on to running the simulation, however, you need to ensure that there are no errors when opening the sim. If you do encounter an error, you can see the source of it in your local folders at RoveSoSimulator/Saved/Logs/RoveSoSimulator.log. If you have any errors related to RoveComm, it can be often fixed by going to RoveSoSimulator/Source/ThirdParty/, deleting the RoveComm_CPP folder, and recloning it in the /ThirdParty folder using git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/MissouriMRDT/RoveComm_CPP.git. If you encounter further issues, let the Simulation Lead know, and we can take a look into the problem.

Setting up Sim Mode on Autonomy_Software

• Now that you are able to open and run the simulator, you’ll need to be able run the Autonomy codebase inside of it. After you have initially followed all the steps to clone Autonomy_Software (see above in Pre Reqs) you will have to configure a few things. First, navigate to src/AutonomyConstants.cpp. Find the line that initializes const std::string SIM_IP_ADDRESS and set the IP to your own IP. You can find your IP by entering ipconfig into your terminal if you are on Windows and ifconfig on Linux. We utilize IPv4. If you are on Windows, the IP you should plug in will typically start with 192.168.x.x and will be listed with a default gateway, and on Linux, the IP the adapter will be named something like eth0 or wlan0.

• You will also want to go into CMakeLists.txt and on the line that has option(BUILD_SIM_MODE "Enable Simulation Mode" OFF) change OFF to ON.

• Next, if you are running Windows, you will need to modify your .wslconfig file. In your File Explorer (or whatever you use to browse your files), go to C:/Users/ and create a new file called `.wslconfig`, if you have not yet modified it before. Open it up and write `networkingMode=mirrored`. Save and close the file, then restart your machine so that the changes are made.

• Lastly, go back into Autonomy_Software in VSCode and follow these steps:
  1. Delete the build directory.
  2. Open up a new terminal.
  3. Run mkdir build && cd build
  4. Run cmake .. && make -j$(nproc) (nproc is the number of processing units)
• You should now have the build folder made to run the simulator! To run autonomy in the sim, follow the steps in the next section.

Run the Simulation

To start the simulator, follow these steps:

• Open the project in Unreal Engine 5.
• Configure the simulation parameters in the settings panel.
• Press the Play button to initiate the simulation.

You should now be able to play it normally! To run autonomy, follow the steps below:

• Open up the project in Unreal and click the ‘play’ button.
• Ensure that it successfully initialized RoveCommUDP. After that, go back into VSCode and run ./Autonomy_Software_Sim.
• Go back into Unreal, and in the game, press ‘B’ on your keyboard to open up the Basestation menu. This will allow us to send waypoints and start autonomy. After sending a waypoint and clicking on ‘Start Autonomy’, the back panel of the rover should turn red and it should start autonomously navigating.

If you encounter any issues, let the Simulation Lead know!

Logging & Data Analysis

Results and logs can be found in the /logs directory. To analyze data, refer to the provided scripts in the /analysis folder.