Docs: bridge ROS 1 and ROS 2 with ros1_bridge

astro.config.mjs

@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
               ],
             },
             { label: "JupyterRos", slug: "JupyterRos" },
+            { label: "Bridging ROS 1 and ROS 2", slug: "Ros1Bridge" },
           ],
         },
         {

src/content/docs/Ros1Bridge.md

@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+---
+title: Bridging ROS 1 and ROS 2
+slug: Ros1Bridge
+description: Connect ROS 1 Noetic and ROS 2 Humble nodes with ros1_bridge, built from source in a Pixi project.
+---
+
+[`ros1_bridge`](https://github.com/ros2/ros1_bridge) passes topics and services between ROS 1 and ROS 2, for example between a robot running ROS 1 Noetic and a computer running ROS 2 Humble. It isn't packaged, but builds from source in a Pixi project. Tested on Linux (aarch64) and macOS (Apple silicon).
+
+:::caution[Keep Noetic and Humble in separate environments]
+Both distributions have packages with the same names (`std_msgs`, `rosgraph_msgs`, ...). In one environment, their Python modules and CMake files overwrite each other, which breaks `roscore` and building the bridge.
+:::
+
+## Set up
+
+One Pixi project with two environments, `noetic` and `humble`. The `humble` environment uses `noetic` as an underlay, like sourcing `/opt/ros/noetic` before `/opt/ros/humble` on Ubuntu.
+
+`pixi.toml`:
+
+```toml
+[workspace]
+name = "ros1-bridge"
+channels = ["https://prefix.dev/robostack-noetic", "https://prefix.dev/robostack-humble", "https://prefix.dev/conda-forge"]
+platforms = ["linux-64", "linux-aarch64", { platform = "osx-arm64", macos = "14.0" }]
+
+[feature.noetic.dependencies]
+ros-noetic-ros-base = "*"
+ros-noetic-rospy-tutorials = "*"
+
+[feature.humble.dependencies]
+ros-humble-ros-base = "*"
+ros-humble-demo-nodes-cpp = "*"
+ros-humble-rmw-implementation-cmake = "*"
+compilers = "*"
+cmake = "*"
+ninja = "*"
+pkg-config = "*"
+colcon-common-extensions = "*"
+
+[feature.humble.activation]
+scripts = ["noetic-underlay.sh"]
+
+[environments]
+noetic = { features = ["noetic"], no-default-feature = true }
+humble = { features = ["humble"], no-default-feature = true }
+```
+
+`noetic-underlay.sh`, next to it:
+
+```sh
+NOETIC="$PIXI_PROJECT_ROOT/.pixi/envs/noetic"
+export ROS1_INSTALL_PATH="$NOETIC"
+export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="${PKG_CONFIG_PATH:+$PKG_CONFIG_PATH:}$NOETIC/lib/pkgconfig"
+export ROS_PACKAGE_PATH="$NOETIC/share"
+export ROS_MASTER_URI="${ROS_MASTER_URI:-http://localhost:11311}"
+export PYTHONPATH="${PYTHONPATH:+$PYTHONPATH:}$NOETIC/lib/python3.12/site-packages"
+export CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="${CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH:+$CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH:}$CONDA_PREFIX:$NOETIC"
+```
+
+## Build
+
+```sh
+pixi install -a
+git clone https://github.com/ros2/ros1_bridge.git ws/src/ros1_bridge
+cd ws
+pixi run -e humble colcon build --cmake-args -G Ninja -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DPython3_FIND_VIRTUALENV=ONLY \
+  -DCMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=23 -DCMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH_USE_LINK_PATH=ON
+```
+
+`CMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH_USE_LINK_PATH` lets the bridge find the ROS 1 libraries without `LD_LIBRARY_PATH`, and C++23 is needed for clang on macOS.
+
+The bridge supports the message types present in both environments; `ros-base` gives about 130 (`std_msgs`, `geometry_msgs`, `sensor_msgs`, `nav_msgs`, ...). For more, add the message packages to both features (e.g. `ros-noetic-tf2-msgs` and `ros-humble-tf2-msgs`) and build again.
+
+## Run
+
+Each command in its own terminal, in `ws`:
+
+```sh
+pixi run -e noetic roscore
+pixi run -e humble bash -c "source install/setup.bash && ros2 run ros1_bridge dynamic_bridge --bridge-all-topics"
+pixi run -e noetic rosrun rospy_tutorials talker
+pixi run -e humble ros2 run demo_nodes_cpp listener
+```
+
+The listener prints the messages of the ROS 1 talker. To use an existing ROS 1 master, e.g. on a robot, set `ROS_MASTER_URI` instead of running `roscore`.
+
+On macOS, set `ROS_HOSTNAME=localhost` for the ROS 1 nodes when everything runs on one machine, and `ROS_LOCALHOST_ONLY=1` if ROS 2 nodes on the same machine don't see each other.

src/data/nav.ts

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ export const NAV_TABS: NavTab[] = [
     label: "Docs",
     href: "/GettingStarted.html",
     match:
-      /^\/(GettingStarted|micromamba|conda|JupyterRos|FAQ|support|CommunityMeeting|Contributing|Monorepo)/,
+      /^\/(GettingStarted|micromamba|conda|JupyterRos|Ros1Bridge|FAQ|support|CommunityMeeting|Contributing|Monorepo)/,
   },
   {
     label: "Packages",