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escapepod [2021/03/22 17:01] – [Updating the Escape Pod] xanathonescapepod [2022/04/13 09:17] (current) – [Escape Pod] xanathon
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 Also Escape Pod only runs from an [[https://ubuntu.com/download/raspberry-pi|Ubuntu Linux]] image provided by DDL for the Raspberry Pi 4 (not the standard Raspberry OS), there are no other options to run Escape Pod from a local computer (for example a deb package, a docker or a Windows app) - which is very unfortunate, if you already have one running as as server. To have to run another additional computer only for Vector is not very environment-friendly if another option is already present and active anyway. Running a RasPi from a Virtual Machine (VM) such as [[https://www.qemu.org/|QEMU]] ist not doable without a lot of effort (or at all, the latest QEMU 5.2 is still not able to emulate RasPi 4) at the moment, but that may be an option in the future. Also Escape Pod only runs from an [[https://ubuntu.com/download/raspberry-pi|Ubuntu Linux]] image provided by DDL for the Raspberry Pi 4 (not the standard Raspberry OS), there are no other options to run Escape Pod from a local computer (for example a deb package, a docker or a Windows app) - which is very unfortunate, if you already have one running as as server. To have to run another additional computer only for Vector is not very environment-friendly if another option is already present and active anyway. Running a RasPi from a Virtual Machine (VM) such as [[https://www.qemu.org/|QEMU]] ist not doable without a lot of effort (or at all, the latest QEMU 5.2 is still not able to emulate RasPi 4) at the moment, but that may be an option in the future.
  
-The Ubuntu image runs headless, that means if you want to work on the Linux system you will have to do that from a ssh terminal, there is no graphical user interface or desktop. It would be possible to install a desktop environment on the Ubuntu flavor used, but I would recommend against it, since the RasPi Ubuntu runs very bad and slow with a desktop over vnc connections (believe me, I tried multiple options on this, also the Ubuntu running on a Jetson Nano is a pain via VNC, and that is a known problem for years also with RasPi, that was not solved until today). A desktop environment accessible via vnc from another computer would be very helpful for editing Python code in an IDE (development environment) directly on the RasPi. So in my opinion using the debian-based Raspberry Pi OS as a basis would have been preferable to the in my opinion somewhat half-finshed and half-working Ubuntu implementation for the RasPi.+The Ubuntu image runs headless, that means if you want to work on the Linux system you will have to do that from a ssh terminal, there is no graphical user interface or desktop. It would be possible to install a desktop environment on the Ubuntu flavor used, but I would recommend against it, since the RasPi Ubuntu runs very bad and slow with a desktop over vnc connections (believe me, I tried multiple options on this, also the Ubuntu running on a Jetson Nano is a pain via VNC, and that is a known problem for years also with RasPi, that was not solved until today). A desktop environment accessible via vnc from another computer would be very helpful for editing Python code in an IDE (development environment) directly on the RasPi. So in my opinion using the debian-based Raspberry Pi OS as a basis would have been preferable to the somewhat half-finshed and half-working Ubuntu implementation for the RasPi.
  
 In addition to the fact that this only runs from a RasPi 4 the Escape Pod binaries are not open source, but closed source. Also the robots need to be authenticated against Escape Pod using a license key provided by DDL derived from the robot's serial number. That way no one will be able to change or expand Escape Pod or add new robots to it if DDL really goes bancrupt. It is not a real open solution, but another proprietary walled garden by DDL. That goes against earlier claims by DDL that certain things would be open source. If DDL goes bancrupt, Escape Pod will only help those that bought a license for it (and the Kickstarter backers) and only with already existing robots, since you have no way to add new robots to it without DDL. In addition to the fact that this only runs from a RasPi 4 the Escape Pod binaries are not open source, but closed source. Also the robots need to be authenticated against Escape Pod using a license key provided by DDL derived from the robot's serial number. That way no one will be able to change or expand Escape Pod or add new robots to it if DDL really goes bancrupt. It is not a real open solution, but another proprietary walled garden by DDL. That goes against earlier claims by DDL that certain things would be open source. If DDL goes bancrupt, Escape Pod will only help those that bought a license for it (and the Kickstarter backers) and only with already existing robots, since you have no way to add new robots to it without DDL.
  
-Despite earlier claims that a RasPi 4 can only run one or two Vectors DDL now says that you can multiple robots from one machine. The exact number is unknown at this time.+Despite earlier claims that a RasPi 4 can only run one or two Vectors DDL now says that you can run multiple robots from one machine. The exact number is unknown at this time.
  
-If you do not want to pay the monthly subscription to run Vector via their servers, Escape Pod may be an option for you. But you have to be clear about the fact that it would be a stripped down version, missing key functions that the robot can no longer provide (weather, knowledge base, Python SDK). The only things it does is configuring the robot (the same you can do with the app) and letting the robot react to standard voice commands (on the up side: you can change the voice commands to some extent).+If you do not want to pay the monthly subscription to run Vector via their servers, Escape Pod may be an option for you. But you have to be clear about the fact that it would be a stripped down version, missing key functions that the robot can no longer provide (weather, knowledge base, Python SDK. Update: Thanks to Cyb3rDog you can now [[https://vector.thedroidyouarelookingfor.info/2021/12/08/escapepod-extension-sdk-for-python-by-cyb3rdog/|use Python SDK with Escape Pod]]). The only things it does is configuring the robot (the same you can do with the app) and letting the robot react to standard voice commands (on the up side: you can change the voice commands to some extent).
  
 From earlier experiences with DDL they tend to release stuff only half finished and then do not work on it anymore (there are still major parts missing from OSKR and that was released months ago, the countless bugs in firmware 1.7 never were resolved) I fear we will not see any bigger updates to Escape Pod in the near future after the release of the so-called version 1.0.0. Maybe bugfixes if we are lucky. But I would be very happy being proven wrong on this by DDL. From earlier experiences with DDL they tend to release stuff only half finished and then do not work on it anymore (there are still major parts missing from OSKR and that was released months ago, the countless bugs in firmware 1.7 never were resolved) I fear we will not see any bigger updates to Escape Pod in the near future after the release of the so-called version 1.0.0. Maybe bugfixes if we are lucky. But I would be very happy being proven wrong on this by DDL.
 +
 +===== Escape Pod 1.8.x =====
 +
 +After a year of doing nothing on Escape Pod, DDL released a so-called "version 1.8.x" in march 2022. You can find a minimal changelog [[https://support.digitaldreamlabs.com/article/351-known-issues|in their knowledge base]]. The changes are also minimal and I see nothing that would warrant a version jump from 1.0.x to 1.8.x, maybe they just want the Escape Pod version to be on par with the Vector OTA version. In addition they broke the extension engine, so Cyb3rDod's Cyb3rVector Escape Pod Extension Proxy does no longer work. Cyb3rDog on Discord said that because of no meaningful changelog and no documentation on what they actually changed it will be difficult for him to fix Cyb3rVector. One has to ask why DDL offers an Extension Engine to enable 3rd parties to implement extensions for Escape pod, when they later break it, without any informations enabling 3rd parties to adapt their software. Some people voiced the opinion DDL actually does not want 3rd party software. In my opinion incompetence is a far more reasonable assumption.
  
 ===== How to get Escape Pod? ===== ===== How to get Escape Pod? =====
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 ==== Power Supply ==== ==== Power Supply ====
  
-Since the RasPi 4 is the latest version and it is more powerful than the earlier version it has higher demands for the power supply, so make sure, you use one that is certified or recommended for the RasPi 4. Be careful, some chinese vendors brag about their power supplies, but some of them actually are not powerful enough. Read some reviews on the one you want to buy and scrutinize carefully if the reviews look genuine or doctored (some shady sellers fake reviews).+Since the RasPi 4 is the latest version and it is more powerful than the earlier iterations it has higher demands for the power supply, so make sure, you use one that is certified or recommended for the RasPi 4. Be careful, some chinese vendors brag about their power supplies, but some of them actually are not powerful enough. Read some reviews on the one you want to buy and scrutinize carefully if the reviews look genuine or doctored (some shady sellers fake reviews).
  
 If the power supply does not have enough capacity, you may not regognize this at once, but it can lead to mysterious errors and crashes. And crashes may damage the file/Linux system on the SD card, leading to the need of reinstallation, re-licensing and re-onboarding. Believe me, I've been there. If the power supply does not have enough capacity, you may not regognize this at once, but it can lead to mysterious errors and crashes. And crashes may damage the file/Linux system on the SD card, leading to the need of reinstallation, re-licensing and re-onboarding. Believe me, I've been there.
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 It is a good idea to write an image of your SD card to a file after you configured your Escape Pod. That way you have a backup of the latest system, that you can easily write to a new SD card and then you are back to a running system that already has all your changes. The process is basically the reverse as wrinting an image to the SD, card and you also use Win32 Disk Imager (or similar software) for this, but instead of writing an image file to a SD card, you write the content of the SD card to an image file that you can store on your computer as a backup. It is a good idea to write an image of your SD card to a file after you configured your Escape Pod. That way you have a backup of the latest system, that you can easily write to a new SD card and then you are back to a running system that already has all your changes. The process is basically the reverse as wrinting an image to the SD, card and you also use Win32 Disk Imager (or similar software) for this, but instead of writing an image file to a SD card, you write the content of the SD card to an image file that you can store on your computer as a backup.
 +
 +===== What needs to be improved and added? =====
 +
 +(work in progress)
 +
 +  * Add knowledge graph
 +  * Add weather
 +  * (at least provide meaningful, helpful and easy to follow instructions on how to achieve those above using the open sourced libraries)
 +  * Add Python SDK
 +  * Add GUI and (working!) VNC to the underlying Ubuntu OS (so it would be possible to code in Python on the Escape Pod) or switch to Raspberry OS
 +  * Provide Escape Pod as a package, docker or installation file for other operating systems
 +  * **Add option to update Escape Pod from inside the Escape Pod installation**
 +  * **Add option to update the Ubuntu from inside Escape Pod**
 +  * Add option to export and reimport Vector user data
 +  * <del>Add option to export and reimport command list</del>
 +  * <del>Add download links for earlier production and OSKR OTAs so they can be downloaded directly to Escape Pod to flash them onto the robots</del> (they will no longer support older firmwares as by a statement made by a DDL representative on the Vector Discord) 
 +
  
 ~~DISCUSSION~~ ~~DISCUSSION~~
escapepod.1616428910.txt.gz · Last modified: 2021/03/22 17:01 by xanathon

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