1.2 Environment Setup

What You'll Learn

Prepare your Ubuntu system for drone development:

Update system to latest packages
Install essential development tools
Create organized workspace structure
Verify everything is ready for ArduPilot SITL

Time: 15-20 minutes

Prerequisites

Before starting, you must have completed:

✅ 1.1 Prerequisites and Setup
✅ Ubuntu 22.04 LTS installed and booted
✅ Internet connection working
✅ System meets minimum requirements

Update Your System

Why Update First?

Before installing anything, ensure your system has:

Latest security patches
Updated package repositories
Bug fixes and improvements

This prevents compatibility issues later.

Update Commands

Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run:

sudo apt update

What this does: Updates the list of available packages and versions.

Expected output:

Hit:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy InRelease
Get:2 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-updates InRelease [119 kB]
...
Reading package lists... Done

✅ Success: No errors, shows "Reading package lists... Done"

Now upgrade installed packages:

sudo apt upgrade -y

What this does: Downloads and installs updates.

This takes: 5-15 minutes depending on pending updates.

Expected output:

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
...
The following packages will be upgraded:
  [list of packages]
...
Setting up [package names]...

✅ Success: Completes without errors

Clean Up

Remove unnecessary packages:

sudo apt autoremove -y
sudo apt autoclean

What this does: Frees disk space by removing unused packages.

Reboot (Important!)

sudo reboot

Why reboot? Kernel updates require restart to take effect.

After reboot: Open terminal again and continue.

Install Essential Development Tools

Install Required Packages

ArduPilot and ROS2 need these tools:

sudo apt install -y \
    build-essential \
    git \
    python3 \
    python3-pip \
    python3-dev \
    curl \
    wget \
    nano \
    net-tools \
    tree

What these are:

build-essential — C/C++ compiler (for building ArduPilot)
git — Version control (to clone ArduPilot)
python3 — Python runtime (ArduPilot SITL uses Python)
python3-pip — Python package installer
python3-dev — Python development headers
curl, wget — Download files from internet
nano — Simple text editor
net-tools — Network diagnostics
tree — Directory structure visualization

This takes: 2-5 minutes

Expected output:

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
...
Setting up build-essential...
Setting up git...
...

✅ Success: All packages installed without errors

Verify Installation

gcc --version
git --version
python3 --version
pip3 --version
tree --version

Expected output:

gcc (Ubuntu 11.x.x) ...
git version 2.34.x
Python 3.10.x
pip 22.x.x from ...
tree v1.8.x

✅ Success: All tools show version numbers

📁 Create Workspace Structure

Why Organized Workspace?

Having a clear structure prevents:

Files scattered everywhere
Forgetting where you saved things
Conflicts between different projects

All SimToFly work will be in one place: ~/simtofly_ws/

Create Main Workspace

mkdir -p ~/simtofly_ws
cd ~/simtofly_ws

What this creates: Main folder for all SimToFly work.

Create Subdirectories

mkdir -p logs missions scripts ros2_ws

What each folder is for:

logs/ — Flight logs and telemetry data
missions/ — Mission files and waypoints
scripts/ — Helper scripts and tools
ros2_ws/ — ROS2 workspace (Phase 2)

Note: We'll create the ardupilot/ folder in Section 1.3 when we clone ArduPilot repository.

Verify Structure

tree -L 1 ~/simtofly_ws

Expected output:

/home/your-username/simtofly_ws
├── logs
├── missions
├── ros2_ws
└── scripts

4 directories, 0 files

✅ Success: Four directories created

Add Workspace Environment Variable

Make it easy to access workspace from anywhere:

echo 'export SIMTOFLY_WS=~/simtofly_ws' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

What this does: Creates a shortcut variable to your workspace.

Test Workspace Variable

echo $SIMTOFLY_WS
cd $SIMTOFLY_WS
pwd

Expected output:

/home/your-username/simtofly_ws

✅ Success: Can access workspace via $SIMTOFLY_WS

System Check and Verification

Create Verification Script

Let's create a script to check everything is ready:

nano ~/simtofly_ws/scripts/check_environment.sh

Paste this script:

#!/bin/bash

echo "=========================================="
echo "SimToFly Environment Check"
echo "=========================================="
echo ""

# Check Ubuntu version
echo "Checking Ubuntu version..."
if lsb_release -d | grep -q "22.04"; then
    echo "✅ Ubuntu 22.04 detected"
else
    echo "❌ Wrong Ubuntu version. Need 22.04"
    lsb_release -d
fi
echo ""

# Check disk space
echo "Checking disk space..."
AVAILABLE=$(df -BG / | tail -1 | awk '{print $4}' | sed 's/G//')
if [ "$AVAILABLE" -gt 30 ]; then
    echo "✅ Sufficient disk space: ${AVAILABLE}GB available"
else
    echo "⚠️ Low disk space: ${AVAILABLE}GB available (need 30GB+)"
fi
echo ""

# Check RAM
echo "Checking RAM..."
TOTAL_RAM=$(free -g | awk '/^Mem:/{print $2}')
if [ "$TOTAL_RAM" -ge 7 ]; then
    echo "✅ Sufficient RAM: ${TOTAL_RAM}GB"
else
    echo "⚠️ Low RAM: ${TOTAL_RAM}GB (recommended 8GB+)"
fi
echo ""

# Check essential tools
echo "Checking essential tools..."
TOOLS=("gcc" "g++" "make" "git" "python3" "pip3" "tree")
for tool in "${TOOLS[@]}"; do
    if command -v $tool &> /dev/null; then
        echo "✅ $tool installed"
    else
        echo "❌ $tool NOT installed"
    fi
done
echo ""

# Check workspace structure
echo "Checking workspace structure..."
DIRS=("logs" "missions" "scripts" "ros2_ws")
for dir in "${DIRS[@]}"; do
    if [ -d "$HOME/simtofly_ws/$dir" ]; then
        echo "✅ $dir directory exists"
    else
        echo "❌ $dir directory missing"
    fi
done
echo ""

# Check internet
echo "Checking internet connection..."
if ping -c 1 google.com &> /dev/null; then
    echo "✅ Internet connection working"
else
    echo "❌ No internet connection"
fi
echo ""

echo "=========================================="
echo "Environment check complete!"
echo "=========================================="

Save and exit: Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter

Make Script Executable

chmod +x ~/simtofly_ws/scripts/check_environment.sh

Run Verification

~/simtofly_ws/scripts/check_environment.sh

Expected output:

==========================================
SimToFly Environment Check
==========================================

Checking Ubuntu version...
✅ Ubuntu 22.04 detected

Checking disk space...
✅ Sufficient disk space: 45GB available

Checking RAM...
✅ Sufficient RAM: 8GB

Checking essential tools...
✅ gcc installed
✅ g++ installed
✅ make installed
✅ git installed
✅ python3 installed
✅ pip3 installed
✅ tree installed

Checking workspace structure...
✅ logs directory exists
✅ missions directory exists
✅ scripts directory exists
✅ ros2_ws directory exists

Checking internet connection...
✅ Internet connection working

==========================================
Environment check complete!
==========================================

✅ All checks pass: Your environment is ready!

⚠️ Some checks fail: Review and fix issues before continuing.

Final Checklist

Before moving to next section, verify:

System fully updated (apt update && upgrade)
Rebooted after updates
Essential tools installed (gcc, git, python3, tree)
Workspace structure created (~/simtofly_ws/)
Verification script runs successfully
All checks in verification script pass

All checked? You're ready for ArduPilot SITL!

What You Accomplished

✅ Updated Ubuntu to latest packages
✅ Installed development tools (gcc, git, python3)
✅ Created organized workspace structure
✅ Set up workspace environment variable
✅ Created verification script for future checks
✅ Verified environment is ready

Your system is now ready for ArduPilot SITL installation!

Next Steps

Continue to 1.3 ArduPilot SITL Installation where we'll:

Clone ArduPilot source code
Install ArduPilot dependencies
Build SITL simulator
Launch your first virtual drone
Test basic commands

Common Questions

Q: Do I need to run the verification script every time?

A: No, just once now to confirm setup. Run it again only if something breaks later.

Q: Can I use a different workspace location?

A: Yes, but stick with ~/simtofly_ws/ for consistency with this tutorial. If you change it, you'll need to adapt all commands.

Q: The update took very long, is this normal?

A: Yes, first update after fresh Ubuntu install can take 15-30 minutes depending on internet speed and pending updates.

Q: I got errors during `apt upgrade`, what do I do?

A: Read the error message carefully. Common fixes:

Run sudo apt --fix-broken install
Try sudo dpkg --configure -a
Reboot and try again
Search the specific error online

Q: Why don't we create the ardupilot folder here?

A: We'll clone ArduPilot directly in Section 1.3, which automatically creates the ardupilot/ directory. Creating it now would cause confusion with nested paths.

Troubleshooting

"Unable to locate package" errors

Cause: Package repositories not updated

Solution:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y [package-name]

"Permission denied" when creating directories

Cause: Trying to create in protected location

Solution: Make sure you're creating in your home directory (~/), not system directories like /opt/ or /usr/.

Verification script shows "command not found"

Cause: Script doesn't have execute permission

Solution:

chmod +x ~/simtofly_ws/scripts/check_environment.sh

Terminal changes don't apply

Cause: Didn't reload bashrc

Solution:

source ~/.bashrc

Or close and reopen terminal.

Some packages fail to install

Cause: Broken dependencies or repository issues

Solution:

sudo apt --fix-broken install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y [package-names]

← Back: 1.1 Prerequisites | Next: 1.3 ArduPilot SITL →

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1.2 Environment Setup

What You'll Learn

Prerequisites

Update Your System

Why Update First?

Update Commands

Clean Up

Reboot (Important!)

Install Essential Development Tools

Install Required Packages

Verify Installation

📁 Create Workspace Structure

Why Organized Workspace?

Create Main Workspace

Create Subdirectories

Verify Structure

Add Workspace Environment Variable

Test Workspace Variable

System Check and Verification

Create Verification Script

Make Script Executable

Run Verification

Final Checklist

What You Accomplished

Next Steps

Common Questions

Q: Do I need to run the verification script every time?

Q: Can I use a different workspace location?

Q: The update took very long, is this normal?

Q: I got errors during `apt upgrade`, what do I do?

Q: Why don't we create the ardupilot folder here?

Troubleshooting

"Unable to locate package" errors

"Permission denied" when creating directories

Verification script shows "command not found"

Terminal changes don't apply

Some packages fail to install

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1.2-environment-setup.md

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1.2 Environment Setup

What You'll Learn

Prerequisites

Update Your System

Why Update First?

Update Commands

Clean Up

Reboot (Important!)

Install Essential Development Tools

Install Required Packages

Verify Installation

📁 Create Workspace Structure

Why Organized Workspace?

Create Main Workspace

Create Subdirectories

Verify Structure

Add Workspace Environment Variable

Test Workspace Variable

System Check and Verification

Create Verification Script

Make Script Executable

Run Verification

Final Checklist

What You Accomplished

Next Steps

Common Questions

Q: Do I need to run the verification script every time?

Q: Can I use a different workspace location?

Q: The update took very long, is this normal?

Q: I got errors during apt upgrade, what do I do?

Q: Why don't we create the ardupilot folder here?

Troubleshooting

"Unable to locate package" errors

"Permission denied" when creating directories

Verification script shows "command not found"

Terminal changes don't apply

Some packages fail to install

Q: I got errors during `apt upgrade`, what do I do?