Keeping Heron Updated

. note:: If you are upgrading your Heron from an older version of ROS, please refer to our upgrade instructions here.

Heron is always being improved, both its own software and the many community ROS packages upon which it depends! You can use the apt package management system to receive new versions all software running on the platform.

Getting New Packages

Each Heron leaves the factory already configured to pull packages from http://packages.ros.org as well as http://packages.clearpathrobotics.com. To update your package and download new package versions, simply run:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

If you see any errors, please get in touch and we’ll see if we can get you sorted out.

MCU Firmware Update

Note

TODO

Starting From Scratch

If Heron’s computer has become inoperable, or for any reason you want to restore it to the factory state, begin by opening Heron, lowering the computer tray, and connecting a screen and keyboard, as well as a wired internet connection. You can then download the most recent version of the Heron boot ISO from the following location:

http://packages.clearpathrobotics.com/stable/images/latest/

Use unetbootin or a similar tool to flash the ISO image to a USB memory stick. Boot Heron’s computer with the USB memory connected, and you should be in the purple Debian/Ubuntu installer. The installer runs by itself and shuts down the computer when finished.

Once done, turn Heron on once more, and run the following:

rosrun heron_bringup install

This installs Heron’s robot_upstart job, so that ROS starts each time the robot starts.

Note that if you may need to re-pair your gamepad to the robot, and you’ll have some extra work to do if you have integrated accessories which require additional launchers or URDF.