Run Your First Demo

Run Your First Demo#

This guide will help you run your first ROS 2 demo on the Robotics Edge Platform to verify your installation is working correctly.

Prerequisites#

Board successfully flashed and booted
Logged in as root
Serial console or SSH connection established

Choose Your Method#

You can run the demo using either:

Method 1: Multiple SSH Terminals - Recommended for development
Method 2: tmux Terminal Multiplexer - Best for single serial connection

Method 1: Multiple SSH Terminals (Recommended)#

This method requires network connectivity but provides the best experience.

Setup Network Connection#

On the board (via serial console):

# Configure static IP
ip addr add 192.168.1.100/24 dev eth0
ip link set eth0 up

# Verify connection
ip addr show eth0

On your Host PC:

# Configure Host PC network
sudo ip addr add 192.168.1.1/24 dev eth0
sudo ip link set eth0 up

# Test connectivity
ping 192.168.1.100

For detailed network configuration, see Platform User Guide - Network Configuration.

Run the Demo#

Terminal 1 - Start Talker:

ssh root@192.168.1.100
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
ros2 run demo_nodes_cpp talker

Terminal 2 - Start Listener:

ssh root@192.168.1.100
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
ros2 run demo_nodes_cpp listener

Terminal 3 - Monitor Topics:

ssh root@192.168.1.100
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
ros2 topic list
ros2 topic echo /chatter

Method 2: tmux Terminal Multiplexer#

If you only have a serial console connection, tmux allows you to create multiple virtual terminals in a single session.

What is tmux?#

tmux (terminal multiplexer) lets you:

Create multiple windows in one terminal session
Split windows into panes
Detach and reattach sessions
Keep programs running in the background

Step 1: Start tmux#

# Source ROS 2 environment first
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash

# Start tmux session
tmux

You’ll see a green status bar at the bottom showing [0] 0:bash*.

Step 2: Create Multiple Windows#

Window 0 - Run Talker:

# You're already in window 0
ros2 run demo_nodes_cpp talker

Create Window 1 - Run Listener:

Press Ctrl+b then c (create new window)

source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
ros2 run demo_nodes_cpp listener

Create Window 2 - Monitor Topics: