Can't communicate with Jetson Xavier NX

[marcelino-pensa]

I have a Nvidia Jetson Xavier NX, and I flashed it using Nvidia's resource website.
In sequence, I hooked up the Jetson to an iRobot create using the connection as described in this link.

After that, I did what's described in this link, which would be simple enough. However, I'm not getting the expected output with ifconfig l4tbr0. The expected output would be:

l4tbr0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.186.3  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.186.255
        inet6 fe80::1  prefixlen 128  scopeid 0x20<link>
        inet6 fe80::ecb6:edff:feac:7dd5  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether ee:b6:ed:ac:7d:d5  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 169  bytes 36206 (36.2 KB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 1644  bytes 213306 (213.3 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

In turn, I am getting the following:

l4tbr0: flags=4098<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        ether 72:18:0e:4c:ca:75  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

Any directions on what I've done wrong? I can't get to communicate with the robot at all...

[marcelino-pensa]

For reference, these are the files that I was supposed to change:

/opt/nvidia/l4t-usb-device-mode/IP_ADDRESS_FOR_CREATE3_ROBOT.conf:

192.168.186.3

/opt/nvidia/l4t-usb-device-mode/nv-l4t-usb-device-mode-runtime-start.sh:

#!/bin/bash

# Copyright (c) 2017-2020, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
#
# Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
# modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
# are met:
#  * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
#    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
#  * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
#    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
#    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
#  * Neither the name of NVIDIA CORPORATION nor the names of its
#    contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived
#    from this software without specific prior written permission.
#
# THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS ``AS IS'' AND ANY
# EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
# IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
# PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR
# CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
# EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
# PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR
# PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY
# OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
# (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
# OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

script_dir="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
. "${script_dir}/nv-l4t-usb-device-mode-config.sh"

if [ -f "${script_dir}/IP_ADDRESS_FOR_CREATE3_ROBOT.conf" ]; then
    robot_ip_conf_file=${script_dir}/IP_ADDRESS_FOR_CREATE3_ROBOT.conf
    cat $robot_ip_conf_file
fi

/sbin/ifconfig l4tbr0 up
# The interface might lose the address when down. Add it here to make sur
# it's configured.
/sbin/ifconfig l4tbr0 ${net_ip} netmask ${net_mask}
/sbin/ifconfig l4tbr0 add ${net_ipv6}

# IF the config file for iRobot Create® 3 (IP_ADDRESS_FOR_CREATE3_ROBOT.conf) exists, 
# then apply the static IP address (192.168.186.3), instead of enabling DHCP server
if [ -n "$robot_ip_conf_file" ]; then
    static_ip_for_robot=`cat $robot_ip_conf_file`
    /sbin/ifconfig l4tbr0 $static_ip_for_robot netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.186.255
    echo "Static IP address set to $static_ip_for_robot"
else

# Start a DHCP server so that connected systems automatically receive an IP
# address. This avoids users having to manually configure the connection, and
# also prevents Network Manager on Linux from destroying any manually applied
# configuration.
#
# The DHCP server must be started here, because it won't start if it's told to
# run on an interface that's down.
if [ -n "${net_dhcp_start}" ]; then
    echo "### IN"
    dhcpd_conf="${script_dir}/dhcpd.conf"
    dhcpd_leases="/run/l4t-usb-devmode-dhcpd.leases"
    dhcpd_pid="/run/l4t-usb-devmode-dhcpd.pid"
    cat > "${dhcpd_conf}" <<ENDOFHERE
max-lease-time ${net_dhcp_lease_time};
default-lease-time ${net_dhcp_lease_time};

subnet ${net_net} netmask ${net_mask} {
    range ${net_dhcp_start} ${net_dhcp_end};
}
ENDOFHERE
    rm -f "${dhcpd_leases}"
    touch "${dhcpd_leases}"
    /usr/sbin/dhcpd \
        -cf "${dhcpd_conf}" \
        -pf "${dhcpd_pid}" \
        -lf "${dhcpd_leases}" \
        l4tbr0
fi

# When an interface is set to "down", all routes through it are lost, so we
# must restore any routes when setting the interface to "up".
if [ -n "${net_ipv4_defroute_router}" ]; then
    route add default gw ${net_ipv4_defroute_router} dev l4tbr0 \
        ${net_ipv4_defroute_metric:+metric ${net_ipv4_defroute_metric}}
fi

fi

exit 0

[shamlian]

The Jetson document was written by our friend @tokk-nv at NVIDIA; perhaps he can assist?

[shamlian]

One suspicion: have you switched the USB/BLE toggle on the adapter board to "USB?"

[marcelino-pensa]

@justinIRBT thank you for your support! I can communicate with the robot using wifi right now... as reference for other users, I made sure that Create3 was in the same network as my compute board, then I needed the following configurations in the docker container:

export CYCLONEDDS_URI='<CycloneDDS><Domain><General><NetworkInterfaceAddress>wlan0</NetworkInterfaceAddress></General></Domain></CycloneDDS>'
export RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_fastrtps_cpp

Then I would get data just with the command:

ros2 topic list --no-daemon

I could not make it work using USB, there seems to be an issue with l4tbr0, but thanks again since you've helped me to get started. I'll keep the discussion open until we can figure out the USB connection issue

[alsora]

@marcelino-pensa I'm happy it works for you now!
Just FYI, when you set the RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_fastrtps_cpp you are switching RMW implementation from CycloneDDS to Fast-DDS.
For this reason you don't need to export a CYCLONEDDS_URI as it is ignored by the application.
I recommend you to read this documentation page to find more information about ROS 2 middlewares: https://iroboteducation.github.io/create3_docs/setup/xml-config/

[justinIRBT]

@marcelino-pensa Something else to try to get the USB working, can you try using nmtui to configure the usb.

Use sudo nmtui to add a network connection. Add a connection of type Ethernet with a manual IP address of 192.168.186.1/24 - the network connection should look like this in nmtui (your USB address and device MAC Address may vary):

I have these instructions from another system setup (not Create3) and don't have a Create3 + Jetson to test on, so I am not sure if this will work for you or not, but it might be worth a quick test. If it works, you should be able to ping 192.168.186.2 (the robot's USB IP)

[marcelino-pensa]

@justinIRBT I had a weird experience with this...
I did as you mentioned, added the MAC address and the IP you suggested, and then I executed ifconfig l4tbr0, and the following showed up:

l4tbr0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.55.1  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.55.255
        ether 72:18:0e:4c:ca:75  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 24  bytes 3108 (3.1 KB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 774  bytes 194777 (194.7 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

Now at least I have a connection and I can ping 192.168.55.1. The weird thing is that this is not the IP I chose initially. Then I opened nmtui again, and I could see that there was a Bridge created called l4tbr0. Not sure how it showed up, as I didn't create it:

On top of that, despite being able to ping 192.168.55.1, I wasn't able to get any ROS data if the robot and I are in different wifi connections. This indicates to me that I'm not being able to get data through USB, just through wifi

Anyway, thanks for pointing out this possible solution

[justinIRBT]

Why did you do 192.168.55.1 for your address, you should do 192.168.186.1 to put it on the same subnet as the robot's 192.168.186.2. Re-reading your comment, it looks like you set 192.168.186.1, but it was changed with that config. The USB1 from above was the wrong address (that was from a system where the USB was plugged into one of the USB-A ports). Are you able to manually change the l4tbr0 ip to 192.168.186.1/24?

[martinerk0]

I also have similar problem with create3 + Orin Nano.
On Orin Nano I have Ubuntu 20.04 and Foxy.

When using wifi, I get data with ros2 topic echo /kidnap_status, but when trying to use l4tbr0 with USB cable I get nothing.
I followed this guide, and with USB I can ping ping 192.168.186.2 and also see website and see connected cable in logs.
But when I try to echo messages or

ros2 topic list --no-daemon --spin-time 10
1703678174.920930 [32]       ros2: using network interface l4tbr0 (udp/192.168.186.3) selected arbitrarily from: l4tbr0, docker0
/parameter_events
/rosout

@justinIRBT This thread is over year old, have you tried create3 with any Jetson over USB since?
I might get newer ROS version with Jetpack 6, but it would be nice to get it working with Foxy and 20.04 too

[martinerk0]

I updated the create3 firmware to the latest

>>>>>>> system version
G.5.3

and now the USB only communication works, although only with ros2 topic list --no-daemon but I think that's because I'm using foxy instead of newer ROS release

[slowrunner]

@martinerk0 Create3 with ROS 2 Galactic firmware will only work properly with a host using ROS 2 Galactic.

Mixing Galactic with Foxy may appear to work at first glance, but most of the Create3 functions will not work properly.

BTW, Foxy reached End Of Life in June 2023, and Galactic was EOL in Dec 2022. Moving to Humble will ensure support until May 2027.

Also, it is best to start a new question with your specific issue.