Connection between Raspberry Pi OS and Navigator

[alankrit_gupta]

Hello everyone,

I am a reserach student in the University of Florida. I am using Navigator flight controller with Raspberry Pi 4. I want to use Raspberry Pi OS instead of BlueOS for controlling my ROV using Python scripts and ROS2 Humble. I am a little lost how to get started with this. I have referred to the Navigator Developer Guide (Navigator Developer Guide) and Navigator Library (GitHub - bluerobotics/navigator-lib: Library to unleash the hardware capabilities, packed with features and fuel for your coding adventures), but the instructions were not really helpful.

Can someone please guide me in the right direction? Thank you in advance.

[GradyJS (Grady Smith)]

Hi Alankrit, I researched your issue and used ChatGPT to compile all the research. Here is
What I found:

1. Install ROS 2 Humble on Raspberry Pi

Although Raspberry Pi OS is based on Debian, ROS 2 Humble is officially supported on Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish). For the smoothest experience with ROS packages and dependencies, it’s highly recommended to install Ubuntu on your Pi.

Helpful Links:

• YouTube: How to Install ROS 2 Humble on Raspberry Pi 4 with Ubuntu 22.04
• Reddit Thread: How to Install ROS 2 Humble on Raspberry Pi

These guides walk through setting up Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS on the Pi and installing ROS 2 Humble step by step.

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2. Use the Navigator Flight Controller with Python or ROS 2

Once ROS 2 is set up, you’ll want to communicate with the Navigator flight controller. Blue Robotics provides the official library navigator-lib for low-level control.

Quick Start with navigator-lib:

Clone the repo and follow the build instructions:

git clone https://github.com/bluerobotics/navigator-lib.git
cd navigator-lib

Then follow the README instructions to install dependencies and build the library.

Features include:

• PWM output
• GPIO input/output
• Analog input reading
• I2C, UART access

This is perfect for writing Python scripts or ROS nodes that directly interface with your hardware.

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3. Additional Resources

Here are some more resources to help:

• Navigator Flight Controller Overview – YouTube
  High-level overview of the Navigator and its capabilities.

• Headless ROS 2 Dev Setup on Pi
  Great walkthrough of setting up a remote ROS 2 development workflow.

• Navigator Developer Guide
  May be limited for Raspberry Pi OS, but helpful for hardware understanding.

Let me know if it works!

Best regards,
Grady Smith

[patrickelectric (Patrick José Pereira)]

Hi @alankrit_gupta,

@alankrit_gupta

… but the instructions were not really helpful.

Can you point what you want to do and how the instructions failed to help you ?