Getting Started

This tutorial will get you ready to run Isaac apps on a Carter robot and x86 machine.

1. Set up an account at https://catalog.ngc.nvidia.com/.

2. Contact your NVIDIA admin to be added to the Isaac 2.0 org (ea-isaac).

3. After you are granted access, you will receive an invite link in an Email to confirm membership in the Isaac 2.0 org

4. Obtain an API Key, which will be necessary to download the Docker containers from NGC.

NOVA Init is a Debian package that sets up the sensors and Jetson device on the Carter robot. Follow the instructions below to install NOVA Init using the NGC client.

1. Download and install the NGC client using the following commands:

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   wget --content-disposition https://ngc.nvidia.com/downloads/ngccli_arm64.zip && unzip ngccli_arm64.zip && chmod u+x ngc-cli/ngc
   s="export PATH=\"\$PATH:$(pwd)/ngc-cli\""; f="$HOME/.bashrc"; grep -qxF "$s" $f || echo "$s" | tee -a $f && source $f
           

   1. Configure the NGC client to give access to Isaac resources. Use the API key that was generated in the Setting up an NGC Account and Getting the API Key section to run the following:

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      ngc config set
              

2. Download NOVA Init from NGC using the following command:

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   ngc registry resource download-version "<your-staging-area>/nova_init"
           

3. Once the nova-init Debian package is downloaded, change directory to the download folder and install it:

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   cd $(ls -td nova_init_v* | head -1)
   sudo apt install ./nova-init_*_arm64.deb
           

Follow these steps to connect the Carter robot to the local WiFi network:

1. Connect the robot to a display using the HDMI port on the rear interface panel.

2. Connect the robot to the wired Ethernet Port (using an RJ45 connector) on the rear interface panel.

3. Connect the keyboard with touchpad to the rear interface panel.

4. Log in to the robot (contact the NVIDIA Solutions team for the robot password).

5. Follow the WiFi instructions for Ubuntu.

To control, deploy, launch, and debug applications, you have to connect your PC to the robot.

First, you must get the IP address of the robot. Assuming you have the robot connected to a display and a keyboard with touchpad from the previous section, follow these instructions:

1. Use CTRL+ALT+t to open a terminal.

2. Find the IP address of the WiFi by running ifconfig wlan0. You should see an output similar to the screenshot below. The IP address is highlighted with a red rectangle.

   

3. Record the IP address (in above case it is 10.110.66.127). This IP address will be used for connecting in all further tutorials and may need to be retrieved again if it changes.

4. SSH into the robot:

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   bob@jetson:~/isaac$ ssh ROBOTUSER@ROBOT_IP
           

   1. Use a computer that is connected to the same WiFi network as your robot

   2. Assuming you are on a Linux computer, open a terminal with CTRL+ALT+t and run ssh <USER>@<ROBOT_IP>. In the above case, it would be ssh nvidia@10.110.66.127.

   3. Enter the password to log in to the robot (contact the NVIDIA Solutions team for the robot password). The tutorials/tools in the following sections will be run from this SSH connection.

   Note

   The login will timeout for security reasons. Also, the HDMI will turn off after a while due to inactivity, so retry if the screen goes black.

A PS5 joystick controller is shipped paired with the robot. To connect the paired controller to Carter, press the PS button on the PS5 controller, as shown below.

The Isaac joystick application allows you to test out the robot’s movement with remote controls. It is provided as a Docker container.

Before running the joystick application, make sure the joystick is turned on and connected to the robot, as described above.

Run the following command on the robot to pull the Docker container and try the joystick application:

            

            
docker run -it --gpus all --rm --network=host --privileged \
    -v /dev:/dev \
    -v /sys:/sys \
    nvcr.io/<your_staging_area>/robot_remote_control_segway:isaac_2.0-aarch64
        

You should hear the Carter beep, indicating that you can now move it around. To move the robot, press and hold the L1 button and use the thumbsticks to navigate manually. The robot is configured to move at a maximum speed of 1.1m/s to ensure safe operation.

To stop the app, Press Ctrl+C on the PC.

After testing the Joystick application, you are ready to try out various use cases with this robot.

Isaac 2.0 features the following use cases:

• Map Creation

• Autonomous Navigation

The tutorial sections will walk you through these workflows.