ROS2 Teleoperation (Linux)¶

Drive the robot directly from a Linux machine using rmw_zenoh_cpp — no iROSLink Control tab needed.

Prerequisites¶

ROS2 Jazzy installed
rmw_zenoh_cpp installed: sudo apt install ros-jazzy-rmw-zenoh-cpp
ESP32 flashed and on the same WiFi network → Build & Configure
iROSLink running in Router or Client mode → Build & Configure

Clear stale ROS2 daemon¶

If you previously used a different RMW, clear it first:

pkill -9 -f ros && ros2 daemon stop

Keyboard teleoperation¶

Terminal 1 — Zenoh router (skip if phone is in Router mode and you're connecting as client):

source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
ros2 run rmw_zenoh_cpp rmw_zenohd

Terminal 2 — keyboard teleop:

source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
export RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_zenoh_cpp
ros2 run teleop_twist_keyboard teleop_twist_keyboard

Use i / , to move forward/back, j / l to turn. k stops.

Gamepad teleoperation¶

Install once:

sudo apt install ros-jazzy-teleop-twist-joy ros-jazzy-joy

Then run (hold L1 / LB enable button while moving the stick):

# Terminal 3 — joy driver
ros2 run joy joy_node

# Terminal 4 — teleop node
ros2 run teleop_twist_joy teleop_node --ros-args \
    -p axis_linear.x:=1 -p axis_angular.yaw:=0 \
    -p scale_angular.yaw:=1.0 -p enable_button:=4 \
    -p publish_stamped_twist:=false

enable_button:=4 maps to L1/LB on most controllers. Adjust if your gamepad differs.

Verify the robot receives commands¶

In a separate terminal:

export RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_zenoh_cpp
ros2 topic echo /cmd_vel

You should see geometry_msgs/Twist messages while driving. The ESP32 serial monitor also prints received commands:

>> cmd_vel  lin.x=0.500  ang.z=0.000  lag=3ms  10.0Hz

RViz2 showing point cloud, occupancy map, and camera feed panels

Reference stack (Docker)¶

The iroslink-docker repo provides a ready-made ROS2 Jazzy environment with rmw_zenoh_cpp, Nav2, RViz2, and SLAM Toolbox pre-installed. Use it if you want to run a full custom nav stack on a laptop or Raspberry Pi without a native ROS2 install.

git clone https://github.com/iROSLink/iroslink-docker
cd iroslink-docker
docker compose up

Once the container is running, the commands on this page work inside it as-is.