Recording Procedure

Please ensure that the Pre-recording Checklist was completed before going to the field.

Remote System Recording

Prerequisites

1. All sensors are properly connected and powered
2. Host computer is connected to the system's hotspot network
3. SSH access to the main system is available

Recording Steps

1. Connect to the System Network: Ensure your host computer is connected to the system's hotspot

2. SSH into the System: Connect to the remote system via SSH:

   ssh [email protected]
   

3. Navigate to Repository: Change to the FRUC apparatus directory:

   cd ~/fruc/fruc_dataset_apparatus
   

4. Start Recording: Launch the interactive recording system:

   ./launch-system.sh
   

   This will:

   • Display a dialog box for entering a recording name (pre-filled with timestamp and random name)
   • Show a checklist of available ROS2 topics
   • Build Docker containers as needed
   • Start all sensor services
   • Begin recording selected topics

5. Monitor Recording: The recording container will show topic publishing frequencies and confirmation that data is being captured

6. Stop Recording: When finished, press Ctrl+C or run from another SSH session:

   ./stop-system.sh
   

7. Verify Recording: Check that the rosbag file was created properly:

   ls -lh rosbags/
   

Using GNOME Desktop

For systems with a GNOME desktop environment, use the graphical launcher:

./gnome-launch-system.sh

And stop with:

./gnome-stop-system.sh

Direct Docker Compose Usage

For advanced users or automated deployments:

cd docker
docker-compose up

To stop:

docker-compose down

Available Topics for Recording

When using launch-system.sh, the following topics are available for selection:

• IMU: /imu/data, /imu/mag, /heading
• LiDAR: /ouster/lidar_packets, /ouster/imu_packets, /ouster/metadata, /ouster/points, /ouster/imu
• Camera: /camera/color/image_raw, /camera/color/camera_info, /camera/aligned_depth_to_color/*
• GNSS: /fix
• System: /tf, /tf_static, /robot_description

Rosbag Location

Recorded rosbag files are saved to:

~/fruc/fruc_dataset_apparatus/rosbags/

The files are automatically named with the recording name you specified and include metadata about the topics recorded.

Data Verification

After recording, verify the rosbag contents:

ros2 bag info rosbags/<recording_name>/

This will show:

• Topic names and types
• Number of messages per topic
• Serialization format (ROS2 uses MCAP by default)