Redo setup to use venv instead of conda + adds helper bash scripts.

.gitignore

@@ -27,3 +27,4 @@ __pycache__/
 .env
 venv/
 *.venv
+.vizflyt

README.md

@@ -71,25 +71,29 @@ This guide will walk you through setting up **VizFlyt**, installing dependencies
 Ensure you have the following dependencies installed before proceeding:
 
 - ✅ **[Ubuntu 22.04](https://releases.ubuntu.com/jammy/)**
-- ✅ **[NVIDIA Drivers](https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/)** (For GPU acceleration)
+- ✅ **[NVIDIA Drivers (CUDA 11.8)](https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/)** (For GPU acceleration)
 - ✅ **[ROS2 Humble](https://docs.ros.org/en/humble/Installation/Ubuntu-Install-Debs.html)** (Required for ROS-based workflows)
-- ✅ **[Miniconda3](https://www.anaconda.com/docs/getting-started/miniconda/install#macos-linux-installation)** (For managing Python environments)
+- ✅ **[ROS2 Vicon Reciever Package](https://github.com/OPT4SMART/ros2-vicon-receiver)** (For publishing vicon data to ROS)
 
+  ➕ *Note: sometimes requires `pip install "empy<4.0" catkin_pkg lark` to satisfy build dependencies.*
 ---
 
 ### **1.2 Setting Up the VizFlyt Environment**
-#### **Step 1: Create and Activate the Conda Environment**
-Run the following commands to set up a dedicated Conda environment for VizFlyt:
+#### **Step 1: Create and Activate the Venv Environment**
+Run the following commands to set up a dedicated Venv environment for VizFlyt:
 
 ```bash
-# Create a Conda environment with Python 3.10
-conda create --name vizflyt -y python=3.10.14
+# Clone the repository
+git clone https://github.com/pearwpi/VizFlyt.git && cd VizFlyt
+
+# Create a python venv environment with Python 3.10
+python3 -m venv .vizflyt
 
 # Activate the environment
-conda activate vizflyt
+source .vizflyt/bin/activate
 
 # Upgrade pip
-python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip
 ```
 
 ---
@@ -100,11 +104,18 @@ Install **PyTorch** and CUDA dependencies for GPU acceleration:
 ```bash
 pip install torch==2.1.2+cu118 torchvision==0.16.2+cu118 --extra-index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu118
 
-# Install CUDA Toolkit (Ensure compatibility with PyTorch version)
-conda install -c "nvidia/label/cuda-11.8.0" cuda-toolkit
+pip install --upgrade "numpy<2"
 
 # Install tiny-cuda-nn (for optimized CUDA operations)
-pip install ninja git+https://github.com/NVlabs/tiny-cuda-nn/#subdirectory=bindings/torch
+pip install wheel ninja
+pip install git+https://github.com/NVlabs/tiny-cuda-nn/#subdirectory=bindings/torch
+```
+📌 Note: Ensure that CUDA 11.8 is installed and activated in the current terminal with nvcc --version.
+If it is not, you can run the following (before installing the above).
+```bash
+export CUDA_HOME=/usr/local/cuda-11.8
+export PATH=$CUDA_HOME/bin:$PATH
+export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$CUDA_HOME/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
 ```
 
 ---
@@ -113,10 +124,7 @@ pip install ninja git+https://github.com/NVlabs/tiny-cuda-nn/#subdirectory=bindi
 Clone the VizFlyt repository and install the modified **Nerfstudio** framework:
 
 ```bash
-# Clone the repository
-git clone https://github.com/pearwpi/VizFlyt.git
-
-cd VizFlyt/nerfstudio
+cd nerfstudio
 
 # Upgrade pip and setuptools before installing dependencies
 pip install --upgrade pip setuptools
@@ -131,16 +139,22 @@ pip install -e .
 Once your environment is set up, build the ROS2 workspace:
 
 ```bash
-pip install --upgrade "numpy<2"
+cd ..
+
 pip install transforms3d gdown pyquaternion
 
+# edit the vizflyt package setup.cfg to use the venv
+source setup_cfg.sh
+
 cd vizflyt_ws/
 
-colcon build --symlink-install
+colcon build
 ```
+📌 *Note: sometimes requires `pip install "empy<4.0" catkin_pkg lark` to satisfy build dependencies.*
 
 This ensures all necessary dependencies are installed and the workspace is properly compiled.
 
+*If you haven't already, add the vicon_reciever package under 'src' in `vizflyt_ws`*
 ---
 
 ## **3. Making Your Workflow Easier**
@@ -152,15 +166,20 @@ To simplify your workflow, you can define **aliases** in your `~/.bashrc` file f
 Append the following lines to your `~/.bashrc` or `~/.bash_profile`:
 
 ```bash
-alias viz='conda activate vizflyt'
+alias viz='source $HOME/VizFlyt/.vizflyt/bin/activate'
 alias viz_ws='cd $HOME/VizFlyt/vizflyt_ws' 
 alias source_ws='source install/setup.bash'
 alias source_ws2='source install/local_setup.bash'
-alias build_ws='colcon build --symlink-install'
-alias set_env='export PYTHON_EXECUTABLE="$HOME/miniconda3/envs/vizflyt/bin/python" && export PYTHONPATH="$HOME/miniconda3/envs/vizflyt/lib/python3.10/site-packages:$PYTHONPATH" && export PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:$HOME/VizFlyt/nerfstudio'
+alias build_ws='colcon build'
 alias init_vizflyt='viz && viz_ws && source_ws && source_ws2 && set_env && cd src'
 ```
 
+Alternatively, we provide a script to run these commands for you. Simply append the following lines to your `~/.bashrc` or `~/.bash_profile`:
+```bash
+export VIZFLYT_PATH="$HOME/VizFlyt/"
+alias init_vizflyt="source $VIZFLYT_PATH/setup_vizflyt_venv.sh"
+```
+
 #### **Step 2: Apply the Changes**
 To make the aliases available immediately, run:
 
@@ -178,7 +197,7 @@ init_vizflyt
 ```
 
 This command will:
-✔️ Activate the **vizflyt** Conda environment  
+✔️ Activate the **vizflyt** Venv environment  
 ✔️ Navigate to the **VizFlyt workspace**  
 ✔️ Source the required ROS2 setup files  
 ✔️ Set up the necessary **Python environment variables**  

setup_cfg.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Check if VIZFLYT_PATH is set
+if [ -z "$VIZFLYT_PATH" ]; then
+    echo "❌ Error: VIZFLYT_PATH is not set."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Define the full Python path
+PYTHON_EXEC="$VIZFLYT_PATH/.vizflyt/bin/python"
+
+# Generate setup.cfg
+cat > $VIZFLYT_PATH/vizflyt_ws/src/vizflyt/setup.cfg <<EOF
+[develop]
+script_dir=\$base/lib/vizflyt
+[install]
+install_scripts=\$base/lib/vizflyt
+[build_scripts]
+executable = $PYTHON_EXEC
+EOF
+
+echo "✅ setup.cfg generated with:"
+echo "executable = $PYTHON_EXEC"

setup_vizflyt_conda.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+conda activate vizflyt
+cd $VIZFLYT_PATH/vizflyt_ws
+colcon build --symlink-install
+source install/setup.sh
+source install/local_setup.sh
+export PYTHON_EXECUTABLE="$HOME/miniconda3/envs/vizflyt/bin/python"
+export PYTHONPATH="$HOME/miniconda3/envs/vizflyt/lib/python3.10/site-packages:$PYTHONPATH"
+export PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:$HOME/VizFlyt/nerfstudio
+cd src

setup_vizflyt_venv.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# load cuda 11.8 for nerfstudio
+export CUDA_HOME=/usr/local/cuda-11.8
+export PATH=$CUDA_HOME/bin:$PATH
+export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$CUDA_HOME/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
+
+# setup env
+source $VIZFLYT_PATH/.vizflyt/bin/activate
+cd $VIZFLYT_PATH/vizflyt_ws
+
+# add the venv python interpreter to the setup.cfg in vizflyt
+source $VIZFLYT_PATH/setup_cfg.sh
+
+# build and source
+colcon build
+source install/setup.sh
+source install/local_setup.sh
+
+cd src

vizflyt_ws/src/vicon_receiver/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5)
+project(vicon_receiver)
+
+# Default to C99
+if(NOT CMAKE_C_STANDARD)
+  set(CMAKE_C_STANDARD 99)
+endif()
+
+# Default to C++14
+if(NOT CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD)
+  set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 14)
+endif()
+
+if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX OR CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID MATCHES "Clang")
+  add_compile_options(-Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic -g)
+endif()
+
+include_directories(
+  include
+  ${Boost_INCLUDE_DIRS}
+)
+
+# find dependencies
+find_package(ament_cmake REQUIRED)
+find_package(rosidl_default_generators REQUIRED)
+find_package(rclcpp REQUIRED)
+find_package(Boost REQUIRED COMPONENTS thread)
+
+rosidl_generate_interfaces(${PROJECT_NAME}
+  "msg/Position.msg"
+)
+
+ament_export_dependencies(rosidl_default_runtime)
+
+add_executable(vicon_client src/vicon_receiver/communicator.cpp src/vicon_receiver/publisher.cpp)
+target_link_libraries(vicon_client ViconDataStreamSDK_CPP ${Boost_LIBRARIES})
+ament_target_dependencies(vicon_client "rclcpp")
+
+get_default_rmw_implementation(rmw_implementation)
+find_package("${rmw_implementation}" REQUIRED)
+get_rmw_typesupport(typesupport_impls "${rmw_implementation}" LANGUAGE "cpp")
+
+foreach(typesupport_impl ${typesupport_impls})
+  rosidl_target_interfaces(vicon_client
+    ${PROJECT_NAME} "rosidl_typesupport_cpp"
+  )
+endforeach()
+
+install(TARGETS vicon_client DESTINATION lib/${PROJECT_NAME})
+
+# Install launch file
+install(DIRECTORY
+  launch
+  DESTINATION share/${PROJECT_NAME}/
+)
+
+ament_package()