GPS UART + Video Streaming + ROS2 Guide

This repository contains instructions for:

1. Running the GPS UART parsing script
2. Launching video streaming through MediaMTX
3. Building and running the ROS2 package gps_uart_reader

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Repository setup

Clone the repository and switch to the required branch:

git clone https://github.com/SergiiGrynevych/Embedded_test_ros.git
cd ~/Embedded_test_ros/

Replace <REPO_URL> and <REPO_FOLDER> with your actual repository values.

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Requirements

Make sure the system has the following installed:

• python3
• pip3
• MediaMTX
• ROS2 (Humble, Foxy, or another compatible version)
• colcon

Optional, depending on how you validate video streaming:

• ffmpeg
• ffplay
• VLC
• GStreamer packages

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TASK 1 — Run GPS UART parser

Run the application

cd ~/Embedded_test_ros/
python3 UART_ParsingGPS.py

Troubleshooting

If pyserial is missing, install it with:

pip3 install pyserial

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TASK 2 — Run video capture / streaming

Go to the MediaMTX folder:

cd ~/Embedded_test_ros/VideoStreaming/
chmod +x ~/Embedded_test_ros/VideoStreaming/mediamtx
chmod +x ~/Embedded_test_ros/VideoStreaming/rgb_cam_ffmpeg.sh
chmod +x ~/Embedded_test_ros/VideoStreaming/rgb_cam_gstreamer.sh

Launch app using FFmpeg config

./mediamtx mediamtx_ffmpeg.yml

Launch app using GStreamer config

./mediamtx mediamtx_gstreamer.yml

to run correctly video streamer in rgb_cam_ffmpeg.sh and rgb_cam_gstreamer.sh you need to set correctly variable DEVICE. In my case i use camera and search it by v4l2-ctl --list-devices

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Stream validation

From another computer on the same network, you can verify the stream in the following ways.

Open in browser

http://<IP_ADDR_BOARD>:8080/stream/

Open with FFplay

ffplay rtsp://<IP_ADDR_BOARD>:8554/stream

Open with VLC

rtsp://<IP_ADDR_BOARD>:8554/stream

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Troubleshooting for GStreamer

If GStreamer dependencies are missing, install them with:

sudo apt install -y \
  gstreamer1.0-tools \
  gstreamer1.0-plugins-base \
  gstreamer1.0-plugins-good \
  gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad \
  gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly \
  gstreamer1.0-rtsp \
  libgstrtspserver-1.0-0 \
  libgstrtspserver-1.0-dev

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TASK 3 — Build and run ROS2 package

A ROS2 distribution must be installed in your system, such as:

• ROS2 Humble
• ROS2 Foxy
• or another compatible version

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Build package

This will build the ROS2 interface package gps_position_msgs and the package gps_uart_reader.

cd ~/Embedded_test_ros/ros2
colcon build --packages-up-to gps_uart_reader

After building, source the workspace:

source ~/Embedded_test_ros/ros2/install/setup.bash

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Launch with ros2 launch

source ~/Embedded_test_ros/ros2/install/setup.bash
cd ~/Embedded_test_ros/ros2
ros2 launch gps_uart_reader gps_uart.launch.py

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Run with ros2 run

source ~/ros2/install/setup.bash
ros2 run gps_uart_reader gps_node --ros-args -p port:=/dev/ttyS5 -p baudrate:=9600

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Dependencies

Install required Python and ROS2 build dependencies:

pip3 install pyserial
sudo apt install python3-colcon-common-extensions

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Show ROS2 interface

ros2 interface show gps_position_msgs/msg/GpsPosition

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Notes

• Replace <IP_ADDR_BOARD> with the actual IP address of the board.
• Make sure the board and the client computer are in the same network.
• If ffplay is not installed on the client machine, use VLC or browser playback instead.
• If ROS2 commands are not found, first source the appropriate ROS2 environment.

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Quick Start

1. Run GPS parser

cd ~
python3 UART_ParsingGPS.py

2. Run MediaMTX

FFmpeg:

cd ~/VideoStreaming/
./mediamtx mediamtx_ffmpeg.yml

GStreamer:

cd ~/VideoStreaming/
./mediamtx mediamtx_gstreamer.yml

3. Build and run ROS2 package

cd ~/ros2
colcon build --packages-up-to gps_uart_reader
source ~/ros2/install/setup.bash
ros2 launch gps_uart_reader gps_uart.launch.py

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Example validation commands

Check stream in browser

http://<IP_ADDR_BOARD>:8080/stream/

Check stream with FFplay

ffplay rtsp://<IP_ADDR_BOARD>:8554/stream

Show ROS2 interface

ros2 interface show gps_position_msgs/msg/GpsPosition