Disclaimer:
None of this software is mine, it is merely a compilation of open source software which is freely available. You’ll need to read more about individual software packages but the software comes “as is” and you are using it at your own risk, in no way am I or the copyright holders and contributers liable for anything that happens when installing or using it.
Introduction:
The idea behind robuntu came from my time during university where I studied Robotics BSc (at UWE) during which my love for Linux flourished while others (some of who had their first experiences with it) found it annoyance due to a terrible build on the lab computers, fiddly installs, resistance to move from Windows or OSX to which they had become so comfortable using and any other reasons. Many worried about the possible complications of dual booting were swayed when shown the ability to boot from a USB drive but overall it seemed to be fighting a loosing battle.
The basis of robuntu was to create a ubuntu spinoff which came pre-installed with anything they may require during the course, from PCB design to coding in C, Python and whatever else they choose.
Note: This isn’t intended to be an operating system to be ran on a robot, more a tool for creating them.
List of additional software:
-
Electronics
- eagle
-
Simulation
- Pyrobot
- Player/Stage
- Gazeebo
-
Programming
- emacs
- gedit-plugins
- eclipse
- build-essential
- python
- arduino
- OpenCV
-
Other
- Dropbox
- Chromium-browser
- flashplugin
Note: See full list of packages installed/removed here – link
But I Already Have Ubuntu, How Can I Get All This Robot Goodness?
Fear not, most of these packages are easily available and for the ones that aren’t I have written scripts for installing them. These will probably get outdated quickly so I’ll try and get them up for LTS releases, the last being 10.04 – Lucid Lynx. I will also update some more often than others depending on my personal use.
- Pyrobot
- Player/Stage
- Gazeebo
- OpenCV
Downloads:
Coming soon..
Installation:
If you haven’t installed an operating system before it’s not as bad as it seems but remember to back up your stuff before doing so just in case something bad happens. The installation for robuntu shouldn’t be any different from the regular ubuntu so go check out what they say about getting it installed.
Normal installation – https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation
USB Stick – http://www.pendrivelinux.com/
Updates:
One of the main problems with this project is going to be dealing with updates, of both robuntu and system updates of packages. I would strongly recommended (unless you know what you’re doing and have the time to fix things) against updating robuntu in order to keep some of software working.