Lab 1 - Laboratory Introduction & Linux

Responsible: Ing. Jakub Minařík

This lab briefly introduces the environment used for development and testing throughout the BPC-PRP course.

The following 3 chapters will take you through installing and setting up the basic environment, and you will practice the Linux CLI.

Linux (1h)

Installation (optional)

To install Linux, please follow the Linux chapter.

Exercise

  • Explore the system GUI.
  • Open a terminal and navigate the file system.
  • Practice basic CLI commands (see the Linux chapter):
    • Check the current directory: pwd
    • Create a directory: mkdir <dir>
    • Enter a directory: cd <dir>
    • Create a file: touch <file>
    • List directory contents: ls -la
    • Rename or move a file: mv <old> <new>
    • Copy a file: cp <src> <dst>
    • Remove a file: rm <file>
    • Create/remove a directory: mkdir <dir>, rm -r <dir>
  • Try a text editor: nano or vim
I installed vim and accidentally opened it. What now? You can exit Vim with: press Esc, then hold Shift and press Z twice (Shift+Z+Z). For a quick introduction, see Vim basics: https://www.vim.org/docs.php

More details about Linux will be introduced during the course.

ROS 2 (30 min)

ROS 2 (Robot Operating System 2) is a modern open‑source framework for building robotic systems. It uses DDS for communication (publish/subscribe, services) and runs on Linux, Windows, and macOS. In this course you will use Python or C++ APIs, RViz for visualization, and Gazebo for simulation.

For installation and basic commands, see the ROS 2 chapter: ROS 2.

CLion IDE (15 min)

Installation

Install CLion using the Snap package manager:

sudo snap install --classic clion

Alternatively, download CLion from the official website and get familiar with it (see CLion IDE). By registering with your school email, you can obtain a free student license.