What you will need

  • A computer (laptop, or desktop) with broadband internet connection

What you will get

  • Necessary accounts created

  • A function Duckietown Shell installation

  • A functional Duckiematrix installation

  • Knowledge about virtual Duckiedrones

  • Knowledge on how to get help when needed

Note

The requirements listed in this section are common to any Duckietown robot. Given this Duckiedrone manual, once completed, will be merged into the main Duckietown Manual, we refer when appropriate to sections there to avoid duplication of information.

Initial setup#

The Duckiedrone is part of the Duckietown ecosystem. The first steps require setting up the working environment.

Base Station Computer#

To fly the drone, you must have a laptop or personal computer (referred to as “base station”) that is capable of connecting to the internet.

A relatively modern commercial laptop computer will suffice for most (non-developer grade) activities, such as building, configuring, and operating the Duckiedrone, both the physical and virtual versions.

Minimum and recommended performance specifications can be found on the Duckietown Manual - Computer and Internet Requirements for Using Duckietown.

OS Requirements#

The Duckiedrone ente version has been tested on:

  • (recommended) Native (or dual boot) Ubuntu 24.xx, or

  • macOS (Mx series)

Most functionalities are expected to work with Duckietown Workspaces on any operating system.

Follow the instructions on the Duckietown Manual - Computer Setup to set up your base station.

Required software and accounts#

A few programs will be introduced throughout these instructions, when needed.

At this stage, complete the Duckietown general initial setup which will guide you through:

  • Setting up your computer, depending on the OS

  • Creating useful third-party accounts (e.g., GitHub, DockerHub, Duckietown account)

  • Accessing support channels

  • Installing the Duckietown Shell

  • Installing the Duckiematrix simulation environment

Duckiematrix and virtual Duckiedrones#

The Duckiematrix is Duckietown’s virtual environment, a powerful simulator supporting virtual Duckietown robots.

Getting help#

Learn how to get (and provide) help through the Duckietown Slack community and Duckietown Archives.