add some notes on ROS setup on the workstation (#295)

* add some notes on robot configuration

* fixing image

README.md

@@ -54,6 +54,9 @@ roslaunch home_robot_hw startup_stretch_hector_slam.launch
 To set up your workstation, follow these instructions. We will assume that your system supports CUDA 11.8 or better for pytorch; earlier versions should be fine, but may require some changes to the conda environment.
 
 #### 1. Create Your Environment
+
+If necessary, [install mamba](https://mamba.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation.html) in your base conda environment. Optionally: [install ROS noetic](http://wiki.ros.org/noetic/Installation/Ubuntu) on your workstation.
+
 ```
 # Create a conda env - use the version in home_robot_hw if you want to run on the robot
 mamba env create -n home-robot -f src/home_robot_hw/environment.yml
@@ -66,6 +69,8 @@ conda activate home-robot
 
 This should install pytorch; if you run into trouble, you may need to edit the installation to make sure you have the right CUDA version. See the [pytorch install notes](docs/install_pytorch.md) for more.
 
+Optionally, setup a [catkin workspace](docs/catkin.md) to use improved ROS visualizations.
+
 #### 2. Install Home Robot Packages
 ```
 conda activate home-robot

docs/catkin.md

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# Workstation ROS Setup
+
+It may be useful to create a local ROS workspace in addition to using the one on the robot. The biggest advantage here is being able to use complete robot meshes in RVIZ that match your robot remotely.
+
+```
+# Create a catkin workspace
+cd $HOME
+mkdir catkin_ws
+cd catkin_ws
+catkin_init_workspace
+
+# Link your home robot package to it
+ln -s $HOME_ROBOT_ROOT/src/home_robot_hw $HOME/catkin_ws/src/home_robot_hw
+
+# Clone the stretch_ros code
+cd src
+git clone [email protected]:hello-robot/stretch_ros.git
+```
+
+Stretch requires `move_base` to be installed:
+```
+sudo apt install ros-noetic-move-base
+```
+
+Now you should be able to build ROS:
+```
+cd $HOME/catkin_ws
+source /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash
+catkin_make -DPYTHON_EXECUTABLE=`which python3`
+```
+
+This should build you a custom catkin environment built on top of the `home-robot` environment that we already created.
+
+## Testing
+
+On the robot start up the drivers:
+```
+roslaunch home_robot_hw startup_stretch_hector_slam.launch
+```
+
+Then on your desktop run the following:
+```
+source $HOME/catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash
+roslaunch home_robot_hw visualization.launch
+```
+
+![](example_with_urdf.png)
+
+You should see RVIZ come up, now with a mesh showing your current robot state.
+
+## Usage
+
+If you will be running ROS commands frequently, add this to your `~/.bashrc` file:
+```
+source $HOME/catkin_ws/devel/setup.bash
+```
+
+There is an equivalent for the `zsh` shell; check the ROS documentation for more.

docs/network.md

@@ -44,10 +44,6 @@ export HOME_ROBOT_ROOT=/path/to/home-robot
 export ROS_IP=$WORKSTATION_IP
 export ROS_MASTER_URI=http://$HELLO_ROBOT_IP:11311
 
-# Optionally - make it clear to avoid issues
-echo "Setting ROS_MASTER_URI to $ROS_MASTER_URI"
-echo "Setting ROS IP to $ROS_IP"
-
 # Helpful alias - connect to the robot
 alias ssh-robot="ssh hello-robot@$HELLO_ROBOT_IP"
 ```