Software setup

To match the examples in this book, and to have access to the same tools that are used in the code samples, you will have to set up three environments:

• A laptop or desktop computer: This will run our control panel, and also be used to train neural networks. I used a Windows 10 computer with Oracle VirtualBox supporting a virtual machine running Ubuntu 16.14. You may run a computer running Ubuntu or another Linux operating system by itself (without Windows) if you want. Several of the AI packages we will use in the tutorial sections of the book will require Ubuntu 16 or later to run. We will load ROS on this computer. I will also be using a PlayStation-type game controller on this computer for teleoperation (remote control) of the robot.
• Raspberry Pi 3: Also running Ubuntu Linux (you can also run other Linux versions, but you will have to make any adjustments between those OS versions yourself). The Pi 3 also runs ROS. We will cover the additional libraries we need in each section of the text.
• Arduino Mega 256: We need to be able to create code for the Arduino. I'm using the regular Arduino IDE from the Arduino website. It can be run in Windows or in Linux. Installation will be covered regardless.