Links

This chapter describes Duckiematrix Links.

What you will need

• Completed Duckiematrix installation

What you will get

• Knowledge on Duckiematrix Links

Introduction

In previous chapters, we saw how to run an instance of the Duckiematrix. However, you may have noticed that the robots were not doing much more than sitting and waiting. This is because we did not tell the Engine where to get robot commands from. We can tell the Engine to setup a communication channel with one of those robots and return to us the other end of the line, using Links, or more properly World Links.

What is a Link?

A Link is a bidirectional communication channel between a Matrix and World entity.

Fig. 221 An example of Links between two Matrix and World entities.

How to Link a Matrix and World entity

To Link a Matrix and World entity, run the following command, where MATRIX is the Matrix key (e.g., map_0/vehicle_0) and WORLD is the World side proxy name (e.g., duckiebot):

dts matrix run --standalone --embedded --map sandbox --link MATRIX WORLD

Note

If you are using a Duckietown Workspace, dts matrix run --standalone starts the Duckiematrix Engine in the environment where the command is run. If dts is installed on the host machine, this command can be run from inside the Duckietown Workspace and is automatically delegated to the host machine, where it launches the native Renderer. For the split Duckietown Workspace workflow, start the Engine separately and run dts matrix run inside or outside the Duckietown Workspace.