Overview

If you intend to use one or more physical MIROs, you will need to commission each robot before use. For some uses, the Commissioning steps described in the Demonstrator Manual (which amounts to assembly) will be sufficient. Other optional steps are detailed on this page.

Getting started

First, perform Commissioning of the robot as described in the Demonstrator Manual. Use the MIROapp to configure MIRO to connect to your local wireless network. LED1 will be lit steadily to indicate that the network is connected.

You can also use MIROapp to recover the IP address that has been assigned to MIRO (referred to here as <ROBOT_IP>. You can use this address to login to MIRO from your workstation using ssh.

If you have set a root password you will be asked for it when you log in. If you have not, use the default password to login (this password is either empty, or as advised in your welcome email).

The first thing you should do after logging in is change the password using the passwd command. Until you do this, your MIRO is vulnerable to intrusion.

At this stage, your MIRO is ready to use, and only needs some software to be started, either the bridge or some control software. The remaining sections on this page describe optional procedures.

Assign fixed IP address

You may wish to assign a static IP address to your robot at this stage, so that you can easily find it to login. Configuring your network to assign MIRO a static IP address is beyond the scope of this document, but however you do it you will need MIRO's MAC address.

Obtain MAC address

Easiest first, these are the most common ways you'll find it.

MIROapp

Use MIROapp to recover the MAC address direct from MIRO over Bluetooth. Click on refresh in the WiFi state section to switch between displaying MAC address and IP address.

Router administration page

If you have administrator access to your local router, you will usually find it offers a web interface that lists the connected devices. MIRO may be identifiable, and you can take the MAC address from its entry in the list. While you're there, you can probably assign the required static IP address from the same page.

SSH login

Connect to MIRO by SSH login from your workstation using the automatically-assigned IP address, as above. From the login prompt, run ifconfig to see the <MAC ADDRESS> associated with adapter wlan0.

Serial login

If you don't know the automatically-assigned IP address, you may not be able to log in to MIRO using SSH. In this case, you can connect using the Debug Port instead, and use ifconfig as above to obtain the MAC address.

Store fixed IP

The <ROBOT_IP> is usually recovered automatically when needed using get_ROBOT_IP.sh (see, for example, ~/bin/run_bridge_ros.sh). If you have assigned a static IP address to the robot, you can store this static address in ROS_IP at ~/.profile, avoiding the need to call get_ROBOT_IP.sh before starting each ROS node. Modify the value of ROS_IP to refer to <ROBOT_IP>, as shown below.

Update system (Linux) configuration

You can modify the contents of the SD card either when logged into MIRO, in the usual way, or by placing the card in the reader on your workstation. Either way, you'll find all the usual things in all the usual places.

For instance, your network credentials are at /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf, your network configuration is at /home/root/.profile, and swap is configured at the bottom of /etc/fstab.

If a mistake in configuration of P3 renders the system inaccessible, you will usually be able to repair the system by plugging the card into a card reader on your workstation and correcting the mistake. However, the fallback position is to reprogram the card with the original software—see Maintenance on the P3 page.