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Professional Electronics Engineer with specialisms in Test and EMC.
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Arduino K9 Post R-Pi ROV

Setting up BlueOS for a Remote Operated Robot

by |Published

BlueOS is Blue Robotics Raspberry Pi software to control ROVs, it combines the functionality of the Raspberry Pi companion software for use with a Pixhawk and the Raspberry Pi’s IO capability, to reduce the amount of external components required.

The installation instructions as well as the download link for the BlueOS software on the project documentation website.

I am going to evaluate BlueOS to control my K9, and then on my ROV, if it works on either of these projects it would make the software development easier.

Flashing the BlueOS SD card

The documentation recommends using the Balena Etcher software to burn the BlueOS iso to the SD card, however, I use the equally capable Raspberry Pi Imager. I installed Raspberry Pi Imager on my Mac via Brew.sh:

brew install --cask raspberry-pi-imager

  1. Download the latest stable version of Blue Robotics Blue OS from GitHub.
  2. Make sure that you have installed and run either Raspberry Pi Imager or Balena Etcher
  3. Insert the SD card into your computer (you may need an SD card reader)
Sandisk Ultra 16 GB micro SD card plugged into a MacBook Pro using a USB C to A, and a USB A to MicroSD card adaptor
Front Screen of Raspberry Pi Imager
Choose the correct device that you are flashing the image for
Choose the correct device that you are flashing the image for
Choose the "use custom" option from the operating system drop down
Choose the “use custom” option from the operating system drop down
Select the "BlueOS-raspberry.zip" file that you downloaded from the Blue Robotics page.
Select the “BlueOS-raspberry.zip” file that you downloaded from the Blue Robotics page.
Select the SD card from the drop down list
Select the SD card from the drop down list
You will arrive back at this screen, you just need to select next
You will arrive back at this screen, you just need to select next
I didn't bother adding any customisations, since I don't know what it may over-write on the BlueOS install
I didn’t bother adding any customisations, since I don’t know what it may over-write on the BlueOS install
Click Yes to image the SD card
Click Yes to image the SD card
You will need to give admin permission to directly access the SD card at the low level required.
You will need to give admin permission to directly access the SD card at the low level required.
Once Written and Confirmed you will be prompted to remove the SD card.
Once Written and Confirmed you will be prompted to remove the SD card.

First Boot

  1. Eject your SD card with the new BlueOS software
  2. Insert the SD card into your Raspberry Pi, and power it up!
    • The first boot may take a couple of minutes, as it expands the filesystem to the new SD card capacity
    • It should take around 2 minutes for a 16GB SD card
  3. By default, if BlueOS does not have a wifi connection configured within 5 minutes of booting, it will start a wifi hotspot which, when connected to, allows accessing the BlueOS interface via blueos-hotspot.local
  4. The hotspot SSID is BlueOS (*****), with the password blueosap

I could not get the webpage to load either using blueos.local, blueos-wifi.local or via blueos-hotspot.local, In the end, my solution was to plug the Raspberry Pi into my home network via an Ethernet cable and allow it to get an IP address via a DHCP lease from my router.

Initial BlueOS Screen, after first boot and connection.
Initial BlueOS Screen, after first boot and connection.
I clicked through the tour, there was not anything specifically in the guide that we won't cover now
I clicked through the tour, there was not anything specifically in the guide that we won’t cover now
I selected "other" since I won't be using Blue Robotic's BlueOS with either a Sub, nor a boat
I selected “other” since I won’t be using Blue Robotic’s BlueOS with either a Sub, nor a boat
Default Hostname and network name
Default Hostname and network name
Renamed to K9
Renamed to K9
Click next to apply the settings, and load the extra modules in.
Click next to apply the settings, and load the extra modules in.
This one will fail, as there is no valid config available, you may have to un-tick and click back, then go forward again
This one will fail, as there is no valid config available, you may have to un-tick and click back, then go forward again
Settings have been applied successfully
Settings have been applied successfully

The “Vehicle Configuration Wizard” can be run again at any time, from the cog settings menu on the left-hand side.

BlueOs Pirate Mode

Pirate mode on Blue Robotic’s ROV software enables access to a lot more controls, some of which should enable me to use this with my K9

Enable Pirate mode - Use Pirate Mode to show hidden pages and advanced settings. Pirate powers should be used with care.
Enable Pirate mode – Use Pirate Mode to show hidden pages and advanced settings. Pirate powers should be used with care.
Pirate mode enabled!
Pirate mode enabled!

BlueOS Cockpit

At the moment, there is nothing connected to the Raspberry Pi, so there is not much I can do with the software at this point, but opening the Cockpit link in Google Chrome (It suggests that support for Firefox is limited). The Cockpit extension also has a configuration wizard.

Welcome to BlueOS Cockpit!
Welcome to BlueOS Cockpit!
BlueOS Cockpit Wizard Main Menu
BlueOS Cockpit Wizard Main Menu
BlueOS Cockpit Wizard has a Vehicle Setup page
BlueOS Cockpit Wizard has a Vehicle Setup page
General Configuration Page
General Configuration Page
Camera Video Address configuration page on BlueOS Cockpit
Camera Video Address configuration page on BlueOS Cockpit
Joystick Configuration page
Joystick Configuration page
Telemetry Options
Telemetry Options
Alerts Configuration
Alerts Configuration
Mission Configuration
Mission Configuration
BlueOS Cockpit Front Page, with the mission renamed to K-9
BlueOS Cockpit Front Page, with the mission renamed to K-9

I haven’t found out how to make this work with custom hardware at this point, however, this is a good place to leave it at the moment, to come back and try to interface it to an Arduino

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