Rover operation procedures

''' Work in Progress. ''' Needs pictures in various places.

= Introduction =

The goal of this guide is for anyone on the team to be able to get the rover (Hindsight) setup so that it can be remote operated.

To make the guide not too lengthy, some assumptions have been made:


 * The rover and base station have all needed parts on them
 * Battery for the rover is fully charged
 * The antenna is stationary and will not be tracking the rover
 * The Jetson on board the rover has been configured to turn on when powered
 * The arm has already been attached to the rover with necessary wires plugged in

The key components needed for rover operation are as follows:


 * rover with battery
 * base station
 * antenna with stand

= Transporting the rover =

There are a few things to keep in mind when moving the rover


 * Never push the rover using the rover wheels. This can damage the electronics on board. Either lift the rover or use the cart
 * Make sure the rover is powered off when being transported.

= Rover setup =

Setting up the rover for operation is really quick and easy. If the battery is not plugged in yet to the rover, do so after the main switch is disconnected. One the battery is plugged in, then power on the rover with the switch. That is really all to it.

= Direct Ethernet / SSH Connection =

Plug in an ethernet cord into the Jetson TX2 on the Rover. Connect the other end to your laptop. Configure your laptop network settings to have a manually set IP address in the 192.168.0.0/24 network. Don’t choose 192.168.0.25, because that’s the Jetson TX2’s address. Then  with password.

= Base station setup =

Setting up the base station involves setting up the PC for operation and setting up the antenna for connecting to the rover.

Setting up the base station computer

 * 1) Open the base station case and pull out the power extension cable. Find a power outlet and plug it in. The monitors should flicker on but turn back off as the computer is still off.
 * 2) Turn on the computer. The power button on the case is not typical. Press the power button in once and then again in about a second. Essentially, the “button” acts more like a switch and needs to be pressed twice.
 * 3) The computer is configured to run in both Windows and Ubuntu. You will may need to use the arrow keys when prompted to switch to Windows as the default operating system is Ubuntu.
 * 4) Once the desktop has been reached, you are done with setting up the computer

Setting up the base station antenna

 * 1) Open the antenna stand and setup the tripod so that it can stand on it’s own. Make sure the ground is flat as the antenna stand is top heavy with the antenna attached.
 * 2) Attach the antenna to the stand. Then raise the antenna on the stand to a desired height and point it in the general direction of rover operation.
 * 3) Grab the long ethernet cable from the base station case and plug one end into the POE injector on the side that is for power (labeled POE). Then extend the cable out to where the antenna is a plug it into the ubiquity attachment that should be on the antenna.
 * 4) If not done so yet, plug another ethernet cable on the non-powered end of the POE injector (labeled LAN) into the base station computer.
 * 5) If not done so yet, power on the rover.
 * 6) The base station antenna and rover antenna will automatically connect with each other. You will know when a connection has been established when the Ubiquiti on the base station antenna starts showing “bars” for signal strength of connection

= Operation =

[TODO - add guide on how to operate rover]