🤖 ROS 2 Humble on Android (Termux)

Run ROS 2 Humble, Micro-ROS ,Groq Cloud LLM and RIO ROS2 packages on your Android device using Termux and ROS2Sense Mobile App for sensor hub

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📋 Prerequisites

• 📱 Android device running Android 7.0 or higher
• 💾 At least 16GB of free storage space
• 🌐 Internet connection
• 📱 Termux app (latest version)
• 📱 ROS2Sense Mobile App (latest version)

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🚀 Installation Steps

📥 1. Install Termux App

1. Download the latest Termux app from the official releases:

   Download Links

   • For Android 7+ devices: termux-app_v0.119.0-beta.2+apt-android-7-github-debug_universal.apk
   • For Android 5/6 devices: termux-app_v0.119.0-beta.2+apt-android-5-github-debug_universal.apk

2. Install the downloaded APK on your device

3. Open Termux app and grant necessary permissions

⚙️ 2. Installation Process (Two-Step)

Step 1: Setup Ubuntu (in Termux)

Update Termux and get required packages

termux-change-repo -y && pkg update -y && pkg upgrade -y && pkg install wget -y

Download and run Ubuntu setup script

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/botforge-robotics/ros2_android/refs/heads/humble/setup_ubuntu.sh && chmod +x setup_ubuntu.sh && ./setup_ubuntu.sh

Step 2: Install ROS 2 and RIO (in Ubuntu)

After Ubuntu is installed:

1. Start Ubuntu environment in Termux(if not already started):

./start-ubuntu22.sh

2. Update and install required packages

apt update && apt upgrade -y && apt install wget -y

3. Download and run ROS 2 setup script

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/botforge-robotics/ros2_android/refs/heads/humble/setup_ros2.sh && chmod +x setup_ros2.sh && ./setup_ros2.sh

The installation process will:

• 📦 Install Ubuntu 22.04 using Andronix
• 🔧 Set up ROS 2 Humble
• 🤖 Install Micro-ROS
• 🚀 Set up RIO ROS2 packages
• ⚙️ Configure all environments

📝 Note(CycloneDDS): By default ros2_setup.sh installs and configures CycloneDDS (rmw_cyclonedds_cpp) as the ROS 2 middleware for better performance, as it is lightweight and efficient for mobile.

📝 Note(Domain ID): For remote communication, ROS_DOMAIN_ID is set to 156 by default in ros2_setup.sh.You can change it to any number between 0-232 in ros2_setup.sh line 144 and restart termux.

📝 Post-Installation

After successful installation:

1. 🔄 Restart your Termux app
2. 🔧 Your ROS 2 environment will be automatically sourced
3. ✅ Run ros2 --help to verify the installation

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📱 Using ROS2Sense Mobile App

ROS2Sense transforms your smartphone into a powerful ROS 2 sensor hub, providing:

Available Sensors 🎯

• 📡 Accelerometer – Detect motion and orientation
• 🔄 Gyroscope – Measure angular velocity
• 🧭 Magnetometer – Get compass direction
• 📍 GPS – Track precise location for navigation
• 📸 Cameras – Use mobile cameras for vision-based applications
• 🌫 IR Sensor – Use infrared commands to control home appliances like ACs and TVs (Comming Soon)
• 💡 Ambient Light Sensor – Detect environment light
• 🔊 Microphone & Speaker – Enable voice interactions & Text to speech
• 🆔 Fingerprint/Face ID – Biometric security and authentication for robots
• 📲 Display Output – Use your mobile screen for animated robotic expressions
• Inbuilt Madgwick Filter for IMU data fusion, Hotword Detection.
• Hot word detection "RIO"

Download ROS2Sense from Google Play Store

Groq API Setup for Voice Features

To use voice interactive features in ROS2Sense Mobile App, you'll need a Groq API key:

1. Create an account at Groq API Console

2. Get your API key

3. Set the API key as an environment variable:

   export GROQ_API_KEY=<your_groq_api_key>

4. Permanently add the API key to the environment variable GROQ_API_KEY in the ~/.bashrc file

   echo "export GROQ_API_KEY=<your_groq_api_key>" >> ~/.bashrc

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🚀 Usage

Launch Options

There are three ways to launch RIO nodes:

1. Mobile Nodes Launch

   • Launches smartphone-related functionality
   • Includes LLM, WebRTC, and WebSocket nodes

2. PCB Nodes Launch

   • Launches hardware-related components
   • Includes Micro-ROS agent and sensor nodes

3. Real Robot Launch

   • Combines both mobile and PCB functionality
   • Full robot system deployment

1.1 Mobile Nodes Launch

The mobile nodes launch file (mobile_nodes.launch.py) starts components related to the smartphone functionality:

# Launch mobile-related nodes
ros2 launch rio_bringup mobile_nodes.launch.py llm_backend:=groq

This launch file includes:

• Ollama LLM Node: Local LLM for robot voice interactions
• Groq LLM Node: Cloud LLM for robot voice interactions
• WebRTC Node: Video streaming server (port 8080)
• Rosbridge WebSocket: Enables ROS2-to-WebSocket communication

Mobile Node Launch Parameters:

Parameter	Description	Default Value	Options
llm_backend	LLM backend	ollama	ollama, groq

📝 Note: Use llm_backend:=groq to use groq cloud LLM for voice interactions as ollama is resource intensive.

📝 Note: If you encounter issues getifaddrs(): permission denied refer to troubleshooting section for more details.

1.2 PCB Nodes Launch

The PCB nodes launch file (pcb_nodes.launch.py) manages hardware-related components:

# Launch PCB-related nodes
ros2 launch rio_bringup pcb_nodes.launch.py agent_port:=8888

PCB Launch Parameters:

Parameter	Description	Default Value
agent_port	Micro-ROS agent UDP port	8888

This launch file includes:

• Micro-ROS Agent: Handles communication with ESP32
• Odometry TF Broadcaster: Publishes transform data
• LIDAR UDP Node: Manages LIDAR sensor data

1.3 Real Robot (Mobile+PCB) Launch

# Launch real robot nodes
ros2 launch rio_bringup rio_real_robot.launch.py \
  use_sim_time:=false \
  agent_port:=8888 \
  llm_backend:=groq

Real Robot Parameters:

Parameter	Description	Default Value	Options
use_sim_time	Use simulation clock (must be false for real hardware)	false	true/false
agent_port	Micro-ROS agent UDP port	8888	Any available port number
llm_backend	LLM backend	ollama	ollama, groq

📝 Note: Make sure to set up the domain and network configuration before launching any nodes to ensure proper communication between components.

2. In ROS2Sense App 📱

• Enter 0.0.0.0 as ROS2 Bridge IP on connecting screen (since ROS2 is running on same device) only if mobile_nodes.launch.py or rio_real_robot.launch.py is launched.

3. On Desktop PC with ROS2 Humble installed 💻

export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=156 
export ROS_LOCALHOST_ONLY=0

📝 Note: ROS_DOMAIN_ID is set to 156 by default in setup_ros2.sh in termux.you can change it to any number between 0-232 in setup_ros2.sh line 144.

or export to .bashrc for permanent use

echo "export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=156" >> ~/.bashrc
echo "export ROS_LOCALHOST_ONLY=0" >> ~/.bashrc

check topics published by mobile nodes

ros2 topic list

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🌐 ROS Domain Setup for Remote Communication

To enable communication between your mobile device (running ROS 2 in Termux/Ubuntu) and a remote PC running ROS 2:

1. On your remote PC 💻

   export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=156 
   export ROS_LOCALHOST_ONLY=0

   or export to .bashrc for permanent use

   echo "export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=156" >> ~/.bashrc
   echo "export ROS_LOCALHOST_ONLY=0" >> ~/.bashrc

🔒 Note: ROS_DOMAIN_ID is set to 156 by default in termux.You can change it to any number between 0-232 in setup_ros2.sh line 144 and restart termux.

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🔑 SSH Login (Termux)

To remotely access your Termux environment via SSH from another device (like your computer), follow these steps:

1. Activate SSH in Termux

   sshd

2. Get your Termux username 👤

   whoami

   This will display your Termux username that you'll need for SSH login.

3. Find your device's IP address 📍

   ifconfig

   Look for the wlan0 section and find the inet address - this is your device's IP address on the WiFi network. For example: inet 192.168.1.100

4. Connect via SSH from another device 🔌

   ssh <username>@<ip_address> -p 8022

   Example: ssh u0_a572@192.168.1.100 -p 8022

   Note: Port 8022 is Termux's default SSH port, different from the standard port 22.

5. Enter your password 🔐

   • You'll be prompted for the password you set during the Ubuntu installation
   • Type your password (it won't be visible as you type)
   • Press Enter to submit

6. Success! ✨ You should now see the Termux prompt, indicating a successful SSH connection.

7. Start Ubuntu 🚀

   ./start-ubuntu22.sh

   This launches your Ubuntu environment within the SSH session.

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🔗 Related Repositories

• RIO Hardware - Hardware design files, BOM and assembly instructions
• RIO Firmware - Micro-ROS firmware for the RIO controller board
• RIO ROS2 - ROS2 packages for navigation, control, and sensor integration

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❗ Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues:

1. getifaddrs(): permission denied 🔄 we have developed a patch to fix the getifaddrs error. Download the patch:

   wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/botforge-robotics/ros2_android/refs/heads/humble/patch_getifaddrs.c

   Compile the patch:

   gcc -shared -fPIC -o patch_getifaddrs.so patch_getifaddrs.c -ldl

   Apply the patch temporarily:

   export LD_PRELOAD=$PWD/patch_getifaddrs.so

   Or apply permanently by adding to .bashrc:

   echo "export LD_PRELOAD=$PWD/patch_getifaddrs.so" >> ~/.bashrc

   Test the patch:

   wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/botforge-robotics/ros2_android/refs/heads/humble/test_getifaddrs.c

   gcc -o test_getifaddrs test_getifaddrs.c

   ./test_getifaddrs

   Output:

   Network interfaces detected:
   Interface: wlan0
      IPv4 Address: 192.168.0.195
   Interface: lo
      IPv4 Address: 127.0.0.1
   Interface: rmnet_data3
      IPv4 Address: 100.65.187.41

2. 🌐 Check your internet connection

3. 🔄 If the first script fails:

   • Try running setup_ubuntu.sh again

4. 🔧 If the second script fails:

   • Make sure you're in the Ubuntu environment
   • Try running setup_ros2.sh again

5. 📝 Check the error messages in the script output

6. Permission Issues 🔒 If you encounter permission errors:

   chmod +x setup_ubuntu.sh
   chmod +x setup_ros2.sh

📌 Notes

• ⏳ The installation process may take some time depending on your device and internet connection
• 🔋 Make sure your device is plugged into a power source during installation

🤝 Contributing

Feel free to submit issues and enhancement requests!

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

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Made with ❤️ by BotForge Robotics