4. Vulcanexus Metapackages

Vulcanexus provides several binary distributions that install specific packages depending on the developer’s needs. Vulcanexus Documentation table summarizes the different Vulcanexus package distributions along with the most important included packages.

4.1. Vulcanexus Core

Vulcanexus Core is the most fundamental and minimal Vulcanexus installation. It is composed by the ROS 2 Base libraries but with the latest eProsima Fast DDS and Fast CDR releases and the ROS MiddleWare (RMW) needed to benefit from the latest features included in those releases. No additional developer tools are included with this basic installation.

Note

Vulcanexus Core Tutorials showcase the specific features that Vulcanexus implements but are not yet included within the ROS 2 ecosystem.

Note

The binary package is called following the next convention vulcanexus-<version_name>-core being the version_name the corresponding adjective associated with the specific release. For example, for Vulcanexus v3, version_name is jazzy. Consequently, in order to install this package run the following command after setting up the repository as explained in the installation guide

sudo apt install vulcanexus-jazzy-core

4.2. Vulcanexus Tools

Vulcanexus Tools is focused on helping developers with the introspection and debugging of their system. Thus, the ROS 2 Monitor and the ROS 2 Statistics Backend are included in order to monitor and diagnose the ROS 2 communication network. ROS 2 Shapes Demo is provided as a simple demo to help testing that the communication is successfully established in the system. ROS 2 Record & Replay are also included in this metapackage. They are applications that save published messages in a ROS 2 environment and playback them in the order in which they were recorded. Finally, Fast DDS Spy is provided as a CLI interactive tool that allows the introspection of a ROS 2 environment in a human readable format.

Note

Vulcanexus Tools Tutorials introduce these developer tools with some simple use case in order to show its potential.

Note

The binary package is called following the next convention vulcanexus-<version_name>-tools being the version_name the corresponding adjective associated with the specific release. For example, for Vulcanexus v3, version_name is jazzy. Consequently, in order to install this package run the following command after setting up the repository as explained in the installation guide

sudo apt install vulcanexus-jazzy-tools

4.3. Vulcanexus Micro

Vulcanexus Micro installs micro-ROS toolkit oriented to the development and deployment of embedded ROS 2 applications. Thus, eProsima Micro XRCE-DDS, the protocol that enables a resource constrained, low-powered device to communicate with a DDS network through the micro-ROS Agent, and the Agent itself are installed. Micro-ROS provides also a set of tools for integration within many build systems, toolchains and embedded development frameworks.

Note

More information about Micro-ROS can be found in Vulcanexus Micro Tutorials.

Note

The binary package is called following the next convention vulcanexus-<version_name>-micro being the version_name the corresponding adjective associated with the specific release. For example, for Vulcanexus v3, version_name is jazzy. Consequently, in order to install this package run the following command after setting up the repository as explained in the installation guide

sudo apt install vulcanexus-jazzy-micro

4.4. Vulcanexus Cloud

Vulcanexus Cloud is oriented to geographically spaced scenarios, deploying robotic applications through a distributed network. To this end, ROS 2 Router is installed in this Vulcanexus package distribution, allowing ROS 2 communications through different network layers (bridging the local networks through WAN communication).

Note

Vulcanexus Cloud Tutorials showcase the features and capabilities of the Vulcanexus Cloud package distribution.

Note

The binary package is called following the next convention vulcanexus-<version_name>-cloud being the version_name the corresponding adjective associated with the specific release. For example, for Vulcanexus v3, version_name is jazzy. Consequently, in order to install this package run the following command after setting up the repository as explained in the installation guide

sudo apt install vulcanexus-jazzy-cloud

4.5. Vulcanexus Simulation

Vulcanexus Simulation installs the open-source robot simulator Webots. Webots allows to simulate real robotic environments providing examples of robot models and controllers

Note

The binary package is called following the next convention vulcanexus-<version_name>-simulation being the version_name the corresponding adjective associated with the specific release. For example, for Vulcanexus v3, version_name is jazzy. Consequently, in order to install this package run the following command after setting up the repository as explained in the installation guide

sudo apt install vulcanexus-jazzy-simulation

4.6. Vulcanexus Base

Vulcanexus Base installs the Tools, Micro and Cloud components jointly.

Note

The binary package is called following the next convention vulcanexus-<version_name>-base being the version_name the corresponding adjective associated with the specific release. For example, for Vulcanexus v3, version_name is jazzy. Consequently, in order to install this package run the following command after setting up the repository as explained in the installation guide

sudo apt install vulcanexus-jazzy-base

4.7. Vulcanexus Desktop

Finally, Vulcanexus Desktop package distribution installs all of the above packages besides ROS 2 Desktop package distribution. ROS 2 Desktop provides additional visualization tools, examples, demos, and tutorials. This is the most complete Vulcanexus installation and it is intended for developers that want a better understanding of the ROS 2 ecosystem.

Note

The binary package is called following the next convention vulcanexus-<version_name>-desktop being the version_name the corresponding adjective associated with the specific release. For example, for Vulcanexus v3, version_name is jazzy. Consequently, in order to install this package run the following command after setting up the repository as explained in the installation guide

sudo apt install vulcanexus-jazzy-desktop