Skip to main content

Software Setup Guide

This guide will walk you through installing all software needed for the Physical AI & Humanoid Robotics course.

Overview​

You will need:

  1. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (native or VM)
  2. ROS 2 Humble Hawksbill
  3. Gazebo Classic / Gazebo Sim
  4. Unity with ML-Agents Toolkit
  5. NVIDIA Isaac Sim (requires NVIDIA GPU)
  6. Python 3.10+ with ML libraries

Step 1: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Setup​

[SOURCE NEEDED: Ubuntu installation steps]

Option B: Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2)​

[SOURCE NEEDED: WSL2 setup instructions]

Option C: Virtual Machine​

[SOURCE NEEDED: VirtualBox or VMware setup]

Step 2: ROS 2 Humble Installation​

Set Locale​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: Locale setup commands]

Add ROS 2 Repository​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: Repository addition commands]

Install ROS 2 Packages​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: Installation commands]

Environment Setup​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: sourcing and environment configuration]

Verify Installation​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: Verification commands]

Step 3: Gazebo Installation​

Gazebo Classic​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: Installation commands]

Gazebo Sim (Ignition)​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: Installation commands]

Step 4: Python and ML Libraries​

Python 3.10+​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: Python installation]

Create Virtual Environment​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: venv setup]

Install ML Libraries​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: PyTorch, TensorFlow, NumPy, OpenCV installation]

Step 5: Unity and ML-Agents​

Download Unity Hub​

[SOURCE NEEDED: Unity Hub download and installation]

Install Unity Editor​

[SOURCE NEEDED: Recommended Unity version]

ML-Agents Toolkit​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: ML-Agents installation]

Step 6: NVIDIA Isaac Sim (Optional, GPU Required)​

System Requirements​

[SOURCE NEEDED: GPU requirements, CUDA, driver versions]

Omniverse Installation​

[SOURCE NEEDED: Omniverse Launcher download and setup]

Isaac Sim Installation​

[SOURCE NEEDED: Isaac Sim installation from Omniverse]

Step 7: Additional Tools​

VSCode or PyCharm​

[SOURCE NEEDED: IDE setup]

Git​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: Git installation and configuration]

Docker (Optional)​

# [SOURCE NEEDED: Docker installation]

Verification Checklist​

Run these commands to verify your setup:

  • ros2 --version - Should show ROS 2 Humble
  • gazebo --version - Should show Gazebo version
  • python3 --version - Should show Python 3.10+
  • import torch; print(torch.__version__) - PyTorch installed
  • Unity Hub opens successfully
  • Isaac Sim launches (if installed)

Troubleshooting​

Common Issues​

Issue 1: ROS 2 commands not found [SOURCE NEEDED: Solution]

Issue 2: Gazebo crashes on launch [SOURCE NEEDED: Solution]

Issue 3: CUDA not detected [SOURCE NEEDED: Solution]

Cloud Alternatives​

If you don't have access to the required hardware:

Google Colab Pro​

[SOURCE NEEDED: Using Colab for ML portions]

AWS RoboMaker​

[SOURCE NEEDED: Cloud ROS development]

NVIDIA Omniverse Cloud​

[SOURCE NEEDED: Cloud Isaac Sim access]

Setup complete? Return to the Course Home to begin!