RoboVAST Tutorial

Note

This tutorial covers the navigation plugin only. The metamorphic testing and FAIR metadata plugins are not covered here.

Prerequisites

Docker
Python 3.12
Ubuntu 24.04 (recommended; Windows also supported)

Installing RoboVAST

Set up a virtual environment:

sudo apt install python3-venv
python3 -m venv venv
. venv/bin/activate

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/cps-test-lab/robovast.git
cd robovast

Install RoboVAST and the navigation extension:

pip install -e .
pip install -e src/robovast_nav

Verify the installation and optionally enable shell completion:

vast --help

# enable shell completions
vast install-completion
source ~/.bashrc  # or source the appropriate file for your shell

Pull the Docker image:

docker pull ghcr.io/cps-test-lab/robovast:latest

Download the Example Files

Download the example .vast file, scenario file, and environment/setup files. The expected folder structure is:

.
└── RoboVAST Examples
    ├── analysis/
    ├── environments/
    │   ├── hbrs_c/
    │   ├── hexagon/
    │   ├── hexagon_large/
    │   ├── hexagon_offset/
    │   └── secorolab/
    ├── files/
    ├── examples.vast       # example vast file
    ├── scenario.osc        # example multi-goal scenario file
    └── variations.yaml     # examples of different variation configurations

Running a Validation Campaign

Initialize the `.vast` file

Make sure you are inside the RoboVAST Examples folder, then run:

vast init examples.vast

Launch the configuration GUI

vast config gui

Modify the `.vast` file

You only need to change the configuration section: modifying, adding, and removing configurations.

Refer to variations.yaml for different possible configurations and variation types.
If you change the maps, keep in mind that the path length and number of goal poses may need to be adjusted so that viable paths can be found (long paths with few goals cannot be generated for small maps; the same applies when many obstacles are present).
View the generated test cases by pressing the Generate button.
Once finished, save the .vast file.

Execute the `.vast` file locally

vast exec local run

Viewing Results

Once the tests have finished running, post-process and visualize the results:

vast results postprocess
vast analysis gui