I thought it would be helpful to start a discussion about how people work with Stretch. Even at Hello Robot, people have different styles. Below, I provide details about my personal development setup and working style.
I like to develop directly with Stretch’s onboard computer. Most of the time, I keep Stretch plugged in. I connect a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and battery charger to Stretch’s trunk. I have extension cables so that I can move Stretch around and a small wheeled table, so that I can move with Stretch.
Most of the time, I’m able to test code on Stretch without disconnecting anything. The main exception is working with navigation over larger distances. For this type of work, I go tetherless.
In general, you need the following to use Stretch’s onboard computer.
A computer monitor with an HDMI input that can connect to the HDMI port in Stretch’s trunk.
A mouse and keyboard (or comparable input devices) with long cables or wireless dongles that can plug into the USB ports in Stretch’s trunk.
I took the photo above, which shows my current setup. The following list has details about the equipment I use with links to comparable products on Amazon.
It’s also worth noting that @bshah has a different working style. He typically works with Stretch untethered, although I imagine he often keeps the charger connected. I think he plans to post details in this discussion at some point.
I use Stretch almost entirely untethered through the use of a hotspot. The Ubuntu 18.04 laptop sitting open on the desk connects to the robot’s network. From there, I use an array of networking tools to visualize, debug, and write software on Stretch. Frankly, I am a bit of a unix nerd, and I realize this setup isn’t for everyone. But for those of you who do prefer it, I’ve written up details on the subject here. One downside to the hotspot approach is that Stretch isn’t connected to the internet. I use an ethernet cable when I need to pull updates or push to Github.
Thanks for sharing your setups! I began my journey with the Stretch RE2 recently, and have found myself most comfortable with the usual tethered setup. For demos and navigation I definitely prefer the untethered mode, which for now I do via installing and using the xserver video dummy for accessing the desktop via VNC Viewer on my Mac.
However, this is a temporary solution, as it can damage the robot’s system and you can end up having no access to your device if the VNC connection fails, since the HDMI transmission to a monitor is blocked. And this might result in a long recovery measurement of the Ubuntu.
A better solution is purchasing an HDMI dummy plug which saves the recent resolution settings and allows the headless remote connection. I am looking forward to try this option soon!
Hey @roboor, welcome to the Stretch community! I’m glad you’re here! I agree about the use a dummy HDMI plug; it’s a great low cost way to maintain your connection. I also wanted to share @pgrady3’s post about wireless HDMI dongles, which I’ve found to have less lag than using VNC/RDP types of desktop sharing softwares.
