2. Setting up your environment

Getting Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Considered approaches

We want a way to have our system run the simulation smoothly to make development enjoyable, this requires GPU accelerated graphics. In the case of a graphics card that is within the same chip as the CPU, all the approaches below should work. The issue arises when the computer has a dedicated GPU, thus making it complicated for the simulator to access the GPU from a virtual machine. Without a hypervisor type 1, only one OS can use the GPU at a time, meaning only the host OS uses the GPU, meaning no GPU for our virtual machine. Ideally, we would run gazebo natively, ensuring direct access to the GPU.

1. Dual booting
   • - Non-trivial to set up
   • - Not universal, notably, complicated on Mac.
   • - Trickier to restart from 0 than virtual machines
   • + Bare metal performance
2. Docker for tool set + Gazebo ignition running natively
   • + Can easily share an image with all the tools needed for development
   • Supported platforms for gazebo
   • - Gazebo's Windows support doesn't include the GUI at the time of writing
   • - Untested on Mac
3. Docker for tool set + AirSim running natively
   • + Can easily share an image with all the tools needed for development
   • + Runs on top of Unreal Engine, making it ideal for realistic computer vision
   • - AirSim doesn't work on MacOS
   • - Microsoft, AirSim's developers, have stopped working on it since 2022
     • Colosseum is a successor to AirSim which supports PX4, sadly only for multi rotors as well
   • - Only supports PX4 multi rotor, no VTOL
4. WSL by itself
   • - Requires Windows machine
   • - Doesn't work with some GPUs, notably Intel Iris Xe GPU
   • + Supports most GPUs
   • + As easy to experiment with as any virtual machine, can always scrap it and restart from new
5. Virtual machine by itself
   • Doesn't work with GPUs at all
6. Docker for tool set + Gazebo-classic (PROMISING!!!)

Getting Git, ROS 2, Gazebo simulator, PX4 firmware, QGroundControl, Tmux

Optional tools