Week 8: Switching to Ubuntu 22.04 and ROS 2

Transition to Ubuntu 22.04

This week, I made the decision to abandon Ubuntu 20.04 and switch to Ubuntu 22.04 due to its built-in real-time kernel. The real-time kernel in 22.04 can be activated with just two commands, which made the setup much more efficient compared to the difficulties I faced trying to build it manually in 20.04.

ROS 2 and Real-Time Kernel Setup

After installing Ubuntu 22.04 and activating the real-time kernel, I began working with ROS 2. I successfully set up ROS 2 with the real-time kernel and started integrating the Franka ROS 2 dependencies.

Workspace and Dependency Challenges

Despite the progress with the system setup, I encountered significant issues when trying to create a proper workspace for working with the Franka arm. The dependencies required for the Franka ROS 2 package were particularly challenging, and I spent much of the week troubleshooting and learning how to get the necessary packages installed correctly in the workspace.

It was a frustrating process, but I’m pushing forward to resolve the issues and get everything working smoothly.

Stay tuned for more updates!