ICUAS26_finals

This is the repo for the final stage of the ICUAS competition 2026. that will be held on Corfu in Greece. It is based on the one for the simulation stage, so for the basic instructions on Docker installation please check that repo. This one is adapted for flying with real UAVs, therefore, before starting it, please follow the prerequisites instructions:

Motion Capture tracking - prerequisites:

To obtain data from motion capture system, please install locally NatNetSDK as given in README instructions.

USB permissions - prerequisites:

Copy files locally: to_copy/99-bitcraze.rules to /etc/udev/rules.d directory. Please check these links on USB permissions: crazyradio. This enables to use the USB Radio and Crazyflies over USB without being root.

Run Crazyflies in the Docker container

Setting up

Clone the repository:

git clone git@github.com:larics/icuas26_finals.git

Add to ~/.bashrc and source it, or type in the current terminal:

export DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1

Run Dockerfile from the project root directory using the following commands:

# Build a Dockerfile
docker build -t icuas26_finals_image . 

# Run the crazyswarm2_img container for the first time
./first_run.sh


# This will create docker container icuas_competition container and position you into the container

When first time in docker ros2 workspace will automatically build, every other time you want to build the workspace run:

cd ros2_ws
colcon build --symlink-install

For future runs, you can use the following commands:

# Start the crazyflies_cont:
docker start -i icuas26_finals_container

# Open the icuas26_finals_container in another terminal, while it is already started:
docker exec -it icuas26_finals_container bash

# Stop the conatainer
docker stop icuas26_finals_container

# Delete the container (be careful with this one as it will delete all changes inside the container)
docker rm icuas26_finals_container

Connecting to crazyflies

To connect to crazyflie you must plug in the Crazyradio flashed USB dongle into the laptop.

The general application cfclient to connect to crazyflie can be started with (this shouldn't be running while crazyswarm2 and icuas26_finals packages are launched):

cfclient

For connecting with ROS2 crazyswarm2 package follow instructions

Start:

To connect with crazyflies with crazyswarm2 navigate to /root/ros2_ws/src/icuas26_finals/startup. and run ./start.sh. This will start node to connect the camera to the wifi, crazyflie_server_reconnect (with reconnection property), octomap_server, aruco_detection and the emergency script. Mentioned programms are obligated to run the whole time during your run! You can start your code only after all crazyflies are fully connected. Once they are fully connected, and everything works fine, the topic /mission_start will publish True message.

Battery Monitoring

Information about the battery is available on topic /cf_x/status, where cf_x is the namespace of a specific Crazyflie. Message type is Status defined in crazyflie_interfaces of Crazyswarm2 repo. The field battery_voltage indicates battery level in Volts. You follow its status on your own. Battery is considered fully charged if its voltage level is above 4V and empty around 3.1V. Keep in mind that during the takeoff and height increase Voltage will drop, but the true status is shown during hovering or changing horizontal position.

Competition procedure

For each benchmark world, you will receive the following files:

• setup.sh
• AGV_path_icuas26_k.yaml
• A folder named icuas26_k containing the .bt and .stl models of the corresponding world

Here, k denotes the world identifier (e.g., final, final2, test, test2, 1, 2, etc.). These files will be provided for testing and final evaluation runs via your team's OneDrive folder. The team leader will receive the corresponding access link.

To deploy a new world:

1. Replace the existing setup.sh file in: ~/ros2_ws/src/icuas26_finals/startup/

2. Copy the icuas26_k folder to: ~/ros2_ws/src/icuas26_finals/worlds/

3. Copy AGV_path_icuas26_k.yaml to: ~/ros2_ws/src/icuas26_finals/config/

4. Rebuild the workspace: cd ~/ros2_ws colcon build --symlink-install

After rebuilding, launch the system using the provided startup scripts.

INFO part

If you are working in the group and you are all using the same network, please check ROS_DOMAIN_ID in .bashrc in container. Random number should be set during the build, however it is not impossible that some of you got the same number. If that is the situatation please change it, so that your code do not crash.

General information about Crazyflies can be found here.

Tutorials on Crazyflies are here.

General information about Cfclient can be found here.

More info about Crazyswarm2 is described in here.

The provided Docker image comes with a few preinstalled tools and configs which may simplify your life. Tmuxinator is a tool that allows you to start a tmux session with a complex layout and automatically run commands by configuring a simple yaml configuration file. Tmux is a terminal multiplexer - it can run multiple terminal windows inside a single window. This approach is simpler than having to do docker exec every time you need a new terminal. You can move between terminal panes by holding down Ctrl key and navigating with arrow keys. Switching between tabs is done with Shift and arrow keys. If you have a lot of open panes and tabs in your tmux, you can simply kill everything and exit by pressing Ctrl+b and then k. Here are some links: Tmuxinator, Getting starded with Tmux, Tmux Cheat Sheet