ROS2 for .NET

Build status

Target	Status
Universal Windows Platform (x86/x64/ARM)
Windows Desktop (x64)
Linux	(TODO)

Introduction

This is a collection of projects (bindings, code generator, examples and more) for writing ROS2 applications for .NET Core and .NET Standard.

Features

The current set of features include:

• Generation of all builtin ROS types
• Support for publishers and subscriptions
• Cross-platform support (Linux, Windows, Windows IoT Core, UWP)

What's missing?

Lots of things!

• Unicode types
• String constants (specifically BoundedString)
• Nested types
• Component nodes
• Clients and services
• Actions
• Tests
• Documentation
• More examples (e.g. IoT, VB, UWP, HoloLens, etc.)

Sounds great, how can I try this out?

First of all install the standard ROS2 dependencies for your operating system of choice https://github.com/ros2/ros2/wiki/Installation#building-from-source

Next make sure you've either installed .Net Core (preferred) https://www.microsoft.com/net/learn/get-started or Mono https://www.mono-project.com/

The following steps show how to build the examples on Windows and Linux:

Windows (Desktop)

md \dev\ros2_dotnet_ws\src
cd \dev\ros2_dotnet_ws
curl -sk https://raw.githubusercontent.com/esteve/ros2_dotnet/master/ros2_dotnet.repos -o ros2_dotnet.repos
vcs import \dev\ros2_dotnet_ws\src < ros2_dotnet.repos
colcon build --merge-install

Linux

mkdir -p ~/ros2_dotnet_ws/src
cd ~/ros2_dotnet_ws
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/esteve/ros2_dotnet/master/ros2_dotnet.repos
vcs import ~/ros2_dotnet_ws/src < ros2_dotnet.repos
colcon build --merge-install

Universal Windows Platform (ARM, Win32, Win64)

We'll build this in two steps, first ament (the build system) and then ROS2 itself. This is because ament will run on the host platform, whereas ros2-dotnet on the target.

ament

md \dev\ament\src
cd \dev\ament
curl -sk https://raw.githubusercontent.com/esteve/ros2_dotnet/master/ament_dotnet_uwp.repos -o ament_dotnet_uwp.repos
vcs import src < ament_dotnet_uwp.repos
colcon build --merge-install
call install\local_setup.bat

UWP

Replace %TARGET_ARCH% with Win32, x64 or ARM

md \dev\ros2\src
cd \dev\ros2
curl -sk https://raw.githubusercontent.com/esteve/ros2_dotnet/master/ros2_dotnet_uwp.repos -o ros2_dotnet_uwp.repos
vcs import src < ros2_dotnet_uwp.repos
cd \dev\ament
call install\local_setup.bat
cd \dev\ros2
colcon build --merge-install --packages-ignore rmw_fastrtps_dynamic_cpp rcl_logging_log4cxx --cmake-args -A "%TARGET_ARCH%" -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME=WindowsStore -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_VERSION=10.0.17763 -DTHIRDPARTY=ON -DINSTALL_EXAMPLES=OFF -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF

Now you can just run a bunch of examples.

Publisher and subscriber

Publisher:

Windows

call \dev\ros2_dotnet_ws\install\local_setup.bat

ros2 run rcldotnet_examples rcldotnet_talker

Linux

. ~/ros2_dotnet_ws/install/local_setup.sh

ros2 run rcldotnet_examples rcldotnet_talker

Subscriber:

Windows

call \dev\ros2_dotnet_ws\install\local_setup.bat

ros2 run rcldotnet_examples rcldotnet_listener

Linux

. ~/ros2_dotnet_ws/install/local_setup.sh

ros2 run rcldotnet_examples rcldotnet_listener

Enjoy!

Using generated DLLs in your UWP application from Visual Studio

Create a new Visual Studio project (Visual C# - Windows Universal - Empty app).

In Solution Explorer panel:

right click on Universal Windows project - Add - Existing item...

and include every DLL file from {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\bin. Now select all of these files in Solution Explorer and check/set the properties:

Build action: Content
Copy to output directory: Copy always

This allows you to retrieve the files in the same directory as the assembly.

Next step, in Solution Explorer panel:

right click on References - Add reference...

and include {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\lib\rcldotnet\dotnet\rcldotnet_assemblies.dll, {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\lib\rcldotnet\dotnet\rcldotnet_common.dll and {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\lib\std_msgs\dotnet\std_msgs_assemblies.dll.

Now you can include your ROS2 code in MainPage.xaml.cs script, compile your project and run it on HoloLens Emulator or HoloLens physical device.

Using generated DLLs in your UWP application from Unity

NOTE: Tested on Unity 2018.2.8f1

Create a new Unity project and set up the following editor properties.

Build Settings

Set your target platform properly:

File - Build Settings - Universal Windows Platform - Switch Platform

then set UWP build settings:

Target Device: HoloLens
Build Type: D3D
SDK: Latest installed
Visual Studio Version: Latest installed
Build and Run on: Local Machine and Windows Phone
Build Configuration: Release

and let unchecked the rest.

Player Settings

• Other Settings

  Configuration

  Scripting Runtime Version: .NET 4.x Equivalent
  Scripting Backend: .NET
  Api Compatibility Level: .NET 4.x
  

• Publishing Settings

  Capabilities

  • InternetClient
  • InternetClientServer
  • PrivateNetworkClientServer

• XR Settings

  • Virtual Reality Supported

  Virtual Reality SDKs

  Windows Mixed Reality

Add files

Create Assets/Plugins and Assets/Scripts folders.

In Plugins folder include every DLL file from {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\bin. Also include {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\lib\rcldotnet\dotnet\rcldotnet_assemblies.dll, {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\lib\rcldotnet\dotnet\rcldotnet_common.dll and {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\lib\std_msgs\dotnet\std_msgs_assemblies.dll.

In Scripts folder create your C# scripts and attach them to a scene GameObject to execute them when the app starts.

Finally, build your project to generate a Visual Studio solution.

File - Build Settings - Build

Unity generated Visual Studio solution

Open the VS solution generated after building your Unity project. In Solution Explorer panel:

right click on Universal Windows project - Add - Existing item...

and include every DLL file from {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\bin. Now select all of these files in Solution Explorer and check/set the properties:

Build action: Content
Copy to output directory: Copy always

This allows you to retrieve the files in the same directory as the assembly.

Next step, in Solution Explorer panel:

right click on References - Add reference...

and include {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\lib\rcldotnet\dotnet\rcldotnet_assemblies.dll, {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\lib\rcldotnet\dotnet\rcldotnet_common.dll and {your_ros2_uwp_ws}\install\lib\std_msgs\dotnet\std_msgs_assemblies.dll.

Finally compile your project for UWP (32 bits) and run it on HoloLens Emulator or HoloLens physical device.