The BlueOS ROS2 Extension bridges the BlueOS and ROS2 ecosystems, enabling advanced robotic applications and research on ArduPilot-based vehicles such as the BlueBoat and BlueROV2.

This extension provides drivers and tools for controlling vehicles and visualizing onboard sensor data. It simplifies the process of setting up a ROS 2 environment for marine robotics by offering pre-configured packages for sonar, cameras, and vehicle control—ready to use out of the box.

In addition, it includes a web-based terminal for convenient access to the ROS 2 environment and integrates seamlessly with Foxglove for browser-based data visualization.

🚀 Features

This extension includes the following ROS 2 Jazzy packages:

• mavros_control

  A Python-based control interface built on MAVROS

  • Supports GPS waypoint navigation (BlueBoat) and RC control (BlueROV2)
  • Includes methods for arming/disarming, takeoff/landing, setting home location, and waypoint following
  • Easily subclass or use as-is to skip writing repetitive boilerplate code

• gscam2

  A ROS 2 driver for GStreamer-based video streams, with support for intra-process communication to maximize performance.

• bluerobotics_sonar

  Drivers for Blue Robotics Ping1D altimeter and Ping360 scanning sonar.

  • Nodes for direct hardware interfacing and real-time data visualization

• sonoptix_sonar

  Drivers and data processing tools for the Sonoptix Echo sonar.

  • Nodes for direct hardware interfacing and real-time data visualization

• ros-foxglove-bridge

  A WebSocket bridge to stream ROS 2 data into the Foxglove web interface.

  • Fully compatible with the BlueOS Foxglove plugin

📋 Prerequisites

• A 64-bit version of BlueOS is required.

  👉 Download the latest Raspberry Pi image from the BlueOS Releases page.

🧰 Installation

You can install the ROS 2 Extension directly from the BlueOS App Store

⚙️ Usage

• Automatic Launch: The extension launches automatically when BlueOS boots.

• Web Terminal: Access the extension’s terminal via the left-hand panel in the BlueOS UI.

• Persistent Storage: The extension links the following directories

  • Host path: /usr/blueos/extensions/ros2/
  • Container path: /root/persistent_ws/

  Use this to store files like custom ROS 2 workspaces or configuration files that need to survive reboots.

🛠️ Build and Run Locally

To build the extension for multiple architectures (arm64, amd64) using Docker:

1. Set Up Multi-Architecture Builder

docker buildx create --name multi-arch \
  --platform "linux/arm64,linux/amd64" \
  --driver "docker-container"
docker buildx use multi-arch

2. Clone the Repository and Build the Container

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/itskalvik/blueos-ros2
cd blueos-ros2
docker compose build

3. Run the Container

docker compose up -d

The extension will be accessible at: http://localhost:4717/

🤓 Manual Installation in BlueOS

• Connect to BlueOS in your browser:
  • Via Wi-Fi AP: http://blueos-hotspot.local/
  • On the same network: http://blueos-avahi.local/
• Navigate to the Extensions tab, then switch to the INSTALLED tab.
• Click the + button (bottom-right), and fill in the fields:
  • Extension Identifier: ItsKalvik.ROS2
  • Extension Name: ROS2
  • Docker image: YOURDOCKERHUBUSER/YOURDOCKERHUBREPO
  • Docker tag: latest
  • Original Settings:

    {
      "NetworkMode": "host",
      "HostConfig": {
        "Binds": [
          "/dev:/dev:rw",
          "/usr/blueos/extensions/ros2/:/root/persistent_ws/:rw"
        ],
        "Privileged": true,
        "NetworkMode": "host",
        "CpuQuota": 200000,
        "CpuPeriod": 100000,
        "Memory": 1097152000
      },
      "Env": []
    }

• Click CREATE to complete the installation.