Basic Setup

These instructions will set up the user PC and robot for basic communication. Further setup will depend on the chosen networking configuration.

User PC

Installing ROS 2

To interface with the robot, it is recommended to use a remote PC running the appropriate version of Ubuntu Desktop, with ROS 2 installed.

  • Required OS: Ubuntu 20.04

    Follow these instructions to install ROS 2 Galactic on your PC.

    Once ROS 2 is installed, install turtlebot4_desktop:

    sudo apt update && sudo apt install ros-galactic-turtlebot4-desktop

  • Required OS: Ubuntu 22.04

    Follow these instructions to install ROS 2 Humble on your PC.

    Once ROS 2 is installed, install turtlebot4_desktop:

    sudo apt update && sudo apt install ros-humble-turtlebot4-desktop

Robot

The first step for setting up the TurtleBot 4 is to power it on and connect it to your Wi-Fi network.

Power on the robot

Place the TurtleBot 4 onto its dock. The green LED on the dock will turn on for a few seconds, and the TurtleBot 4 should power on. Allow the robot some time to boot up.

For more details on the robot buttons and indicator lights, visit the Create®3 Documentation

Connect to the Access Point

On the first boot, the Raspberry Pi will enter Access Point (AP) mode which will allow you to connect to it over Wi-Fi. On your PC, connect to the Turtlebot4 Wi-Fi network. The password is also Turtlebot4.

Note

The TurtleBot 4 AP network is a 5GHz network. Your computer will need to support 5GHz Wi-Fi to connect to the network.

SSH into the Raspberry Pi

Once connected, you can SSH into the Raspberry Pi to configure its Wi-Fi. Open a terminal on your PC and call:

ssh ubuntu@10.42.0.1

Log in using the password turtlebot4.

Connect the Raspberry Pi to your network

Once logged in, configure the Raspberry Pi to connect to your Wi-Fi network.

Tip

Connect the Raspberry Pi to a 5GHz Wi-Fi network for optimal performance.

  • In your SSH session, call:

    sudo wifi.sh -s '<WIFI_SSID>' -p '<WIFI_PASSWORD>' -r <REGULATORY_DOMAIN> && sudo reboot
    Note

    The Regulatory Domain is based on the country you live in. USA: US, Canada: CA, UK: GB, Germany: DE, Japan: JP3, Spain: ES. For a full list, click here.

  • In your SSH session, run the TurtleBot 4 setup tool:

    turtlebot4-setup

    This will start the TurtleBot 4 setup tool. Navigate to the "Wi-Fi Setup" menu and configure your connection. When you have finished, save and apply the settings.

    Wi-Fi setup
    Wi-Fi Setup using the TurtleBot 4 Setup tool
    Note

    Change your Wi-Fi mode to ‘Client’ when connecting to an existing network.

Find the new Raspberry Pi IP

Once the Wi-Fi settings are applied, the Raspberry Pi will reboot and connect to your network. DHCP will assign it a new IP address. On the TurtleBot 4, this IP address will be shown at the top of the display.

IP Address
Wi-Fi IP address on a TurtleBot 4

For the TurtleBot 4 Lite, you will need to check the /ip topic for the new address.

  • On your PC, run the following commands:

    source /opt/ros/galactic/setup.bash
export RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_cyclonedds_cpp
export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=0
ros2 topic echo /ip

  • On your PC, run the following commands:

    source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash
export RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_fastrtps_cpp
export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=0
ros2 topic echo /ip

You should see the IP address printed out in your terminal periodically.

$ ros2 topic echo /ip
data: 192.168.28.24
---
data: 192.168.28.24
---
Note

If you are unable to find the IP address with the previous methods, try logging into your gateway and looking for a device with host name “ubuntu”.

Once you have found the IP address, you can now SSH back into the robot with it.

ssh ubuntu@192.168.28.24

Accessing the Create® 3 webserver

Once you have acquired the Raspberry Pi IP address, you can access the Create® 3 webserver.

Open a web browser and navigate to your Raspberry Pi IP with the port 8080.

Webserver
Accessing the Create® 3 webserver

You will be greeted by the Create® 3 webserver home page.

Webserver
Create® 3 webserver home page

Updating the TurtleBot 4

It is recommended to update both the Create® 3 and the Raspberry Pi when you first use it to receive the latest bug fixes and improvements.

Create® 3

Check the Create® 3 software releases to see if a newer firmware version is available. You can check the firmware version of your Create® 3 by visiting the webserver.

If new firmware is available, download it, then access the webserver. Go to the Update tab, upload the firmware, then update your robot.

Raspberry Pi packages

SSH into the Raspberry Pi, then update all packages by calling:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

TurtleBot 4 Controller Setup

The TurtleBot 4 comes with an included TurtleBot 4 Controller. It is paired in advance with the Raspberry Pi.

If you wish to manually pair a controller, follow these instructions:

  • SSH into the TurtleBot 4
sudo bluetoothctl
  • The bluetoothd CLI interface will start.
  • Type scan on and press enter.
  • Press and hold both the home and share buttons on the TurtleBot 4 controller until the light starts blinking.
TurtleBot 4 Controller
Putting the TurtleBot 4 in pair mode
  • In the CLI look for a Wireless Controller device to be found. It will have a MAC address similar to A0:5A:5C:DF:4D:7F.
  • Copy the MAC address.
  • In the CLI enter trust MAC_ADDRESS, replacing MAC_ADDRESS with the controllers address.
  • Then, enter pair MAC_ADDRESS.
  • Finally, enter connect MAC_ADDRESS.
  • The CLI should report that the controller has been connected and the light on the controller will turn blue.
  • Enter exit to exit the CLI.

Access Point Mode

Placing the Raspberry Pi into Access Point mode can be useful when using the robot in an area without Wi-Fi connection.

  • SSH into the Raspberry Pi and call:

    sudo wifi.sh -a && sudo reboot

    The Raspberry Pi will revert back to the original AP mode.

    Optionally you can set your own SSID and password with:

    sudo wifi.sh -s '<SSID>' -p '<PASSWORD>' -a && sudo reboot

  • SSH into the Raspberry Pi and run the TurtleBot 4 setup tool:

    turtlebot4-setup

    Go to Wi-Fi Setup and select Apply Defaults. Optionally you can set your own SSID and password before saving and applying the new settings.

Tip

If you are moving your TurtleBot 4 to a new location with a different Wi-Fi network, reconfigure the Raspberry Pi to connect to that network beforehand or place it into AP mode. Otherwise it will continue trying to connect to your current network.

Recovering the Raspberry Pi

If you entered incorrect Wi-Fi credentials or your Wi-Fi network is down, you will not be able to access the Raspberry Pi over Wi-Fi. To recover from this, you can connect directly to the Raspberry Pi using an ethernet cable. You may need a USB to Ethernet adapter for your PC.

Ethernet connection
Connecting to the TurtleBot 4 over Ethernet

The Raspberry Pi uses a static IP address for the ethernet interface, 192.168.185.3. You will need to configure your wired connection to use the same subnet:

  • Go to your wired connection settings.
  • Set your IPv4 Method to Manual and set your static IP. The IP address cannot be the same as the Raspberry Pi.
Setting IP
Configure your PC's wired IP
  • Click ‘Apply'

You can now go to your terminal and SSH into the robot by typing:

ssh ubuntu@192.168.185.3

Install latest Raspberry Pi image

Warning

Installing a new image on the Raspberry Pi will delete any changes you may have made. Save your changes externally before proceeding.

Find the latest TurtleBot 4 Raspberry Pi images at http://download.ros.org/downloads/turtlebot4/.

  • Download the latest image and extract it.
  • Power off your robot and then remove the microSD card from the Raspberry Pi.
  • Insert the microSD card into your PC. You may need an adapter.
  • Install the imaging tool dcfldd
sudo apt install dcfldd
  • Identify your SD card
sudo fdisk -l

  • The SD card should have a name like /dev/mmcblk0 or /dev/sda.

  • If you wish to backup your current image, do so now:

sudo dd if=/dev/<SD_NAME> of=<IMAGE_PATH> bs=1M
Note

SD_NAME is the device name (mmcblk0, sda, etc.).

IMAGE_PATH is the path to where you want the image saved – e.g., ~/turtlebot4_images/backup_image.

  • Get the SD flash script from turtlebot4_setup and flash the SD card:
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/turtlebot/turtlebot4_setup/humble/scripts/sd_flash.sh
bash sd_flash.sh /path/to/downloaded/image
  • Follow the instructions and wait for the SD card to be flashed.
  • Remove the SD card from your PC.
  • Ensure your Raspberry Pi 4 is not powered on before inserting the flashed SD card.
  • Follow the Robot Setup to configure your TurtleBot 4.