ROS 2 Application Deployment

This section provides instructions for deploying ROS 2 applications to the Renesas RZ/V2H RDK platform.

Prerequisites

Before starting deployment:

Complete the Cross compilation environment setup section.
Prepare the VS Code workspace configuration by following ROS 2 VS Code Workspace Configuration.
Make sure the required variables in settings.json are configured correctly, especially TARGET_IP.
Make sure all required packages are available in the current workspace on the host machine.

Install Dependencies into the Sysroot

Before building the application, make sure that all required dependencies are installed into the target sysroot.

Update the APT repository list in the target sysroot. This command ensures that the latest package information is available for installing dependencies.

rzv2h-chroot apt update

Prepare the necessary ROS 2 packages in the current workspace on the host machine, then run the following command to install the required dependencies into the sysroot:

sysroot-rosdep-install

Note

Note that target sysroot libraries must match the runtime environment of the target device. Otherwise, the application may fail to run on the target device due to missing or incompatible libraries.

For more information about how to avoid library version mismatches, see ABI mismatch issues in the FAQ.

Build the Application

Before deploying, ensure that your ROS 2 application is built using the cross-compilation environment.

There are three ways to build your application:

Use the command line:
```
cross-colcon-build
```
This command builds the ROS 2 workspace using the cross-compilation toolchain with the default build configuration (Release).
Use a VS Code task:
- Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette.
- Run Tasks: Run Task.
- Choose the appropriate build task:
  - ROS2: Build Release to build with the Release configuration
  - ROS2: Build Debug to build with the Debug configuration
Use the default build task:
- Press Ctrl+Shift+B.
- This executes the default build task, which is configured to build with the Release configuration.

Deploy to Target

There are two main methods to deploy your application to the RZ/V2H RDK platform:

Use a VS Code task:
- Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette.
- Run Tasks: Run Task.
- Choose ROS2: Deploy to Target to execute the deployment script.
Use the Task Buttons extension:
- Click the Deploy button in the VS Code status bar to start the deployment process.

Install Dependencies on the Target

After deployment, install any additional dependencies on the target device.

Change to the workspace directory on the target device:
```
cd <path_to_your_ros2_ws>
```
Replace <path_to_your_ros2_ws> with the actual path to your ROS 2 workspace on the RZ/V2H RDK.

Set up the ROS 2 environment and install dependencies using rosdep:

source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
rosdep install --from-paths ./install/*/share -y -r --ignore-src

Run the Application

You can start your application on the target device by using either ros2 run or ros2 launch through the VS Code tasks.

Note

Before running the application, make sure all required dependencies are installed on the target device. Otherwise, the application may fail to start.

Update the following variables in settings.json to match the mode you want to use:
- For ros2 run:
  - NODE_PACKAGE_NAME
  - NODE_EXECUTABLE_NAME
- For ros2 launch:
  - LAUNCH_PACKAGE_NAME
  - LAUNCH_FILE_NAME
Use one of the following methods to run the application:
- Method 1: Use the Command Palette
  - Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette.
  - Run Tasks: Run Task.
  - Choose the appropriate task:
    - ROS2: Run Package Executable to run using ros2 run
    - ROS2: Launch Package LaunchFile to run using ros2 launch
- Method 2: Use the Task Buttons extension
  - Click Run ExecutableFile in the VS Code status bar to run using ros2 run.
  - Click Run LaunchFile in the VS Code status bar to run using ros2 launch.
Enter any custom arguments if prompted.

For example, if your launch file requires a custom argument such as video_device, enter it in the following format:
```
video_device:=/dev/video0
```
The application starts on the target device.