Software and Hardware Requirements
This page details all software and hardware needed to complete the course. Requirements are organized by learning pathway.
Learning Pathways
Choose your path based on goals and budget:
Path 1: Simulation Only (Minimum)
Goal: Learn concepts without physical hardware Cost: $1,500-2,500 Chapters: All chapters, simulation-based labs only
Path 2: Simulation + Edge (Recommended)
Goal: Full learning experience including edge deployment Cost: $2,500-4,000 Chapters: All chapters, deploy to Jetson
Path 3: Complete Lab (Maximum)
Goal: Physical robot testing and sim-to-real transfer Cost: $5,000-15,000 Chapters: All chapters including real robot capstone
Software Requirements
Operating System
Required: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)
Why Ubuntu 22.04:
- ROS 2 Humble official support
- Isaac Sim compatibility
- Most robotics tools target Ubuntu
Alternatives:
- Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (for ROS 2 Foxy, older)
- Docker containers (for non-Linux users)
- WSL2 on Windows (limited GPU support)
Installation:
# Download from https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
# Recommended: Clean install on dedicated partition
# Minimum: Dual boot or VM (with GPU passthrough)
ROS 2 Humble
Version: ROS 2 Humble Hawksbill (LTS release)
Installation:
# Set locale
sudo apt update && sudo apt install locales
sudo locale-gen en_US en_US.UTF-8
sudo update-locale LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
# Add ROS 2 repository
sudo apt install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo apt update && sudo apt install curl -y
sudo curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ros/rosdistro/master/ros.key -o /usr/share/keyrings/ros-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/ros-archive-keyring.gpg] http://packages.ros.org/ros2/ubuntu $(. /etc/os-release && echo $UBUNTU_CODENAME) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ros2.list > /dev/null
# Install ROS 2
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install ros-humble-desktop-full
sudo apt install ros-humble-ros-base
sudo apt install ros-dev-tools
# Environment setup
echo "source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
Verification:
ros2 --version
# Expected output: ros2 cli version X.X.X
Gazebo Simulator
Version: Gazebo Garden or Fortress
Installation:
sudo apt install ros-humble-gazebo-ros-pkgs
sudo apt install ros-humble-gazebo-plugins
Verification:
gazebo --version
# Expected: Gazebo multi-robot simulator, version 11.x or higher
NVIDIA Isaac Sim
Version: Isaac Sim 2023.1.0 or later
Requirements:
- NVIDIA RTX GPU (see hardware section)
- Ubuntu 22.04
- NVIDIA Driver 525.60.11 or newer
Installation:
- Install Omniverse Launcher:
# Download from https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/omniverse/download/
wget https://install.launcher.omniverse.nvidia.com/installers/omniverse-launcher-linux.AppImage
chmod +x omniverse-launcher-linux.AppImage
./omniverse-launcher-linux.AppImage
- Through Launcher:
- Install Nucleus (local server)
- Install Isaac Sim 2023.1.0+
- Install Cache
Verification:
# Launch Isaac Sim
~/.local/share/ov/pkg/isaac_sim-*/isaac-sim.sh
Python Development Environment
Required Packages:
# Python 3.10 (comes with Ubuntu 22.04)
sudo apt install python3-pip python3-venv
# ROS 2 Python dependencies
pip3 install rclpy std_msgs geometry_msgs sensor_msgs
# Machine Learning (for VLA chapters)
pip3 install torch torchvision torchaudio --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu118
pip3 install transformers openai-whisper
# Development tools
pip3 install black flake8 pytest
Additional Tools
Code Editor/IDE:
- VS Code (recommended):
snap install code --classic - PyCharm Professional
- vim/emacs (for terminal users)
Version Control:
sudo apt install git
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"
Build Tools:
sudo apt install build-essential cmake
Hardware Requirements
Path 1: Simulation Workstation (Minimum)
Purpose: Run Isaac Sim, Gazebo, ROS 2 development
Specifications:
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel i7-10700 / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X | Intel i9-12900K / AMD Ryzen 9 5900X |
| GPU | NVIDIA RTX 3060 (12GB VRAM) | NVIDIA RTX 4070 or higher |
| RAM | 32 GB DDR4 | 64 GB DDR4/DDR5 |
| Storage | 500 GB NVMe SSD | 1 TB NVMe SSD + 2TB HDD |
| OS | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS |
GPU Critical:
- Isaac Sim requires RTX series (not GTX)
- Ray tracing cores needed for photorealistic rendering
- Minimum 8GB VRAM, 12GB+ recommended
Cost Estimate: $1,500-2,500 (desktop) / $2,000-3,500 (laptop)
Alternatives:
- Cloud workstation (AWS g5.xlarge or g5.2xlarge)
- Colab Pro+ with GPU (limited Isaac Sim support)
Path 2: + Jetson Edge Device (Recommended)
Add to Simulation Workstation:
Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit ($499):
- 1024-core NVIDIA Ampere GPU
- 8GB RAM
- Ubuntu 20.04 (JetPack 5.1+)
- For edge deployment and real-time inference
Or Jetson AGX Orin ($1,999):
- 2048-core GPU
- 32GB or 64GB RAM
- Higher performance for complex VLA models
Sensors (for Jetson):
- Intel RealSense D435i ($329): RGB-D camera
- IMU (MPU6050 or similar) ($10-50)
- Microphone (for voice recognition) ($20-100)
Total Addition: $850-2,500
Path 3: + Robot Platform (Complete)
Add to Simulation + Edge:
Option A: Proxy Quadruped ($1,600-2,700):
- Unitree Go2 ($1,600): Affordable quadruped for testing
- Not humanoid, but tests locomotion and navigation
Option B: Mini-Humanoid ($3,000-8,000):
- Robotis OP3 (~$6,000): Research-grade humanoid
- Hiwonder XiaoR Humanoid (~$3,000): Educational platform
Option C: Full Humanoid ($16,000-90,000):
- Unitree G1 (~$16,000): Commercial humanoid
- Agility Digit ($250,000+): Industrial-grade (university labs)
Recommended for Course: Option A (Unitree Go2) or simulation only
Total for Complete Lab: $5,000-15,000 (workstation + Jetson + mini-humanoid)
Cloud Computing Alternative
For students without local hardware:
AWS EC2 Instances
For Isaac Sim:
- Instance type: g5.xlarge ($1.006/hour on-demand)
- GPU: NVIDIA A10G (24GB VRAM)
- vCPUs: 4
- RAM: 16 GB
For Basic ROS 2:
- Instance type: t3.large ($0.0832/hour)
- No GPU needed
Cost Estimate:
- 10 hours/week for semester: ~$150-200
- AWS Educate credits may cover this
Google Colab Pro+
For Jupyter-based Learning:
- Cost: $49.99/month
- GPU access (limited hours)
- Not suitable for full Isaac Sim workflow
Network Requirements
Bandwidth:
- Minimum: 10 Mbps download (for packages, updates)
- Recommended: 50+ Mbps (for cloud workflows, video tutorials)
Storage for Downloads:
- ROS 2 packages: ~5 GB
- Isaac Sim: ~30 GB
- Code examples and datasets: ~10 GB
- Total: 50+ GB free space
Budget Summary
| Pathway | Initial Cost | Ongoing Costs |
|---|---|---|
| Simulation Only | $1,500-2,500 | Electricity, internet |
| Sim + Edge | $2,500-4,000 | Same as above |
| Complete Lab | $5,000-15,000 | Same + hardware maintenance |
| Cloud-Based | $0-500 (hardware) | $50-200/month |
Verification Checklist
Before starting Chapter 1:
Software:
- Ubuntu 22.04 installed
- ROS 2 Humble installed and sourced
- Gazebo launches successfully
- Isaac Sim opens (if using)
- Python 3.10 with pip available
- Git configured
Hardware:
- Workstation meets minimum specs
- GPU drivers installed (NVIDIA)
- Jetson setup complete (if using)
- Sensors connected and recognized (if using)
Network:
- Internet connectivity stable
- Can download ROS packages
- GitHub access verified
Verification Commands:
# Check ROS 2
ros2 topic list
# Check GPU
nvidia-smi
# Check Python
python3 --version
pip3 --version
# Check Git
git --version
Getting Help
If you don't meet requirements:
- Budget constraints: Start with cloud-based or simulation-only
- Hardware limitations: Use lower-quality settings in Isaac Sim
- OS issues: Try Docker containers or WSL2
See Also:
Requirements reviewed as of December 2025. Check official documentation for latest versions.