Swarm Coppeliasim

Used for making swarm experiments for blimps/other swarms in Coppeliasim. Experiments using the NEAT evolutionary algorithm to create swarm emergence (paper) are under \evolution.

Tested on Ubuntu 20.04 with Python 3.8.

\pymaze contains a modified version of the pymaze github.

Installation

1. Install Coppeliasim

   Tested with version 4.3.0 rev 12 on Ubuntu 20.04

   We left the extracted folder in the ~/Downloads folder. If you need to change this, you should update line 16 in /src/swarm_expiriments.py

   Example setup:

   cd ~/Downloads
   wget https://www.coppeliarobotics.com/files/CoppeliaSim_Edu_V4_3_0_rev12_Ubuntu20_04.tar.xz
   tar -xvf CoppeliaSim_Edu_V4_3_0_rev12_Ubuntu20_04.tar.xz
   rm CoppeliaSim_Edu_V4_3_0_rev12_Ubuntu20_04.tar.xz

   Update your .bashrc with the following (the alias is not required, it just makes it easier to run Coppeliasim)

   Replace <path to coppelia folder> with the path. In our case, it was /home/<username>/Downloads/CoppeliaSim_Edu_V4_3_0_rev12_Ubuntu20_04. Unfortunately it looks like using ~ does not work for later build commands, so you need to put the full directory.

   export COPPELIASIM_ROOT_DIR="<path to coppelia folder>"
   alias coppelia="$COPPELIASIM_ROOT_DIR/coppeliaSim.sh"

   • Note: to remove the annoying error messages on setup, go to <coppelia folder path>/system/usrset.txt. Scroll down to the 'Messaging' section and change 'doNotShowCrashRecoveryMessage' to 'true'.

2. Install ROS2

   Tested with ROS2 Foxy on Ubuntu 20.04

   Make sure the following line is in the .bashrc file, or is run every terminal (with <distro> replaced by ROS distribution, e.g. foxy)

   source /opt/ros/<distro>/setup.bash

   Remember to source the bashrc file after:

   source ~/.bashrc

3. Set up the ZMQ package into Coppeliasim

   pip3 install pyzmq cbor

   Then add the following to your .bashrc. Note: since this references COPPELIASIM_ROOT_DIR, it must be on a line after the definition made in step 1

   export PYTHONPATH="$PYTHONPATH:$COPPELIASIM_ROOT_DIR/programming/zmqRemoteApi/clients/python"

   Again, remember to source the bashrc file after:

   source ~/.bashrc

4. Set up this project

   Clone this directory, copy all the .lua files into the correct place (replace <path to coppelia> with the path to the Coppeliasim folder). This should be run from wherever you want the repo to be.

   git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/pranavraj575/swarm_coppeliasim
   cp swarm_coppeliasim/lua/* /<path to coppelia>/lua/
   cd swarm_coppeliasim
   pip3 install -e .

   For some reason there is no way to tell Coppeliasim to look in different folders for .lua files. Not sure if this is because Coppeliasim is silly or because I am. Either way, this method works.

5. Install the ROS2 Coppelia package "according to the tutorial"

   However, the tutorial sucks, so following the directions below will work

   • Install dependencies

     sudo apt update
     sudo apt-get install xsltproc
     pip3 install xmlschema

   • make a ROS2 workspace (the name can probably be different)

     cd ~
     mkdir -p ros2_ws/src

   • clone the sim_ros2_interface directory and install dependencies.
     • The best way to do this is with the folder we made

       cp -r /<path to swarm_coppeliasim>/setup_files/sim_ros2_interface ros2_ws/src

     • However, you can try setting up according to the tutorial like this

       cd ros2_ws/src
       git clone https://github.com/CoppeliaRobotics/simExtROS2
       cd sim_ros2_interface
       git checkout coppeliasim-v4.3.0-rev12

   • Build the ROS2 package (note: should be run from the workspace directory)

     • Note: this command is buggy, if it fails try looking at the compile instructions in the github tutorial

       cd ~/ros2_ws
       colcon build --symlink-install

     • The following altarnate build command works better in cases where there are a lot of compiled interfaces for some reason

       cd ~/ros2_ws
       sudo apt install clang
       export CXX=clang++
       colcon build --symlink-install

     • Note: if using a conda environment, you might get an error like this

       running the following might help:

       conda install -c conda-forge catkin_pkg empy lark

Tests

• Coppelia installation test

  The obvious test to see if Coppeliasim is actually installed:

  coppelia

  This will open the coppelia simulator. Use the -h argument to test headless mode.

  Note: if you did not alias in installation step 1, you need to type in the path to the coppeliaSim.sh file

• ZMQ test

  Tests if the python coppelia interface works

  First open any coppelia scene with the coppelia command. Though not necessary, it might be useful to spawn some objects to see the physics work.

  Then run the following file from the swarm_coppeliasim directory

  python3 tests/testZeroMQRemoteAPI.py

  This will just play the scene, wait a bit, then pause.

• ROS blimp control test

  Tests if coppelia ROS package is set up properly

  First open coppelia with the coppelia command

  Then run the following file from the swarm_coppeliasim directory

  python3 tests/ros_ctrl_test.py

  This test will load an empty scene, spawn a blimp, then move the blimp up, printing the state aquired repeatedly.

  Mess with the file (the RECCY variable) to output graphs of the state, and mess with the test variable to change the command given

• Swarm control experiments test

  Tests if swarm experiments are set up properly

  Run the following file from the swarm_coppeliasim directory

  python3 src/swarm_expiriment.py

  This test will load a scene, load a swarm of agents in different positions, and begin the simulation, giving each agent a basic command

  The simulation will run for 10 seconds, then reset with a different swarm. Currently we implemented blimps, ankis, and quadcopters

• Parallelism test

  Tests if parallel instances of Coppeliasim can run

  Run the following file from the swarm_coppeliasim directory

  python3 tests/mult_scene_test.py

  This should open two instances of coppelia sim. A blimp will spawn in each scene, and a command of slight positive z velocity is given to one, and a slight negative z velocity to the other.

  Switch between the two windows and verify that there is no interference between the two blimps. One should fly straight up and the other straight down.

• Experiment/maze blimp test

  tests the module setup and is pretty cool i think

  Run the following file from the swarm_coppeliasim directory

  python3 src/maze_blimps.py

  This should open an instance of coppeliasim. A maze will be generated using pymaze, and the walls will be spawned into the simulation. 5 blimps will be spawned into the environment "start cell", and the simulation will start. Each blimp will start heading down towards the exit cell, probably not making it since the command is just 'go south'

  This experiment will be run twice, and the 'goal data' will be printed for each experiment at the end of the script. The output is defined in src/maze_blimps under AmazingBlimp.goal_data

Results

• Anki Area Coverage Evolved Policy

  

• GT-MAB Area Coverage Evolved Policy

  

• GT-MAB Wall Climb Evolved Policy

  

• GT-MAB Obstacle Surround Evolved Policy