Installing and Setting Up ROS 2

Before using ROS 2, we need to install it and set it up. Doing this is not as trivial as just downloading and installing a basic program. There are several ROS 2 versions (called distributions), and we need to choose which one is the most appropriate. We also need to pick an Ubuntu version as ROS and Ubuntu distributions are closely linked.

Once you know which ROS/Ubuntu combination you need, you have to install the corresponding Ubuntu operating system (OS). Although being familiar with Linux is a prerequisite for this book, I will still do a recap on how to install Ubuntu on a virtual machine (VM), just in case, so you won’t be lost and can continue with this book.

Then, we will install ROS 2 on Ubuntu, set it up in our environment, and install additional tools that will allow you to have a better development experience.

By the end of this chapter, you will have everything ready on your computer so that you can use ROS 2 and write custom...