Docker

Docker scripts for running the O3DE Robot Vacuum Sample

This directory contains a Dockerfile and helper scripts for building and running the O3DE Robot Vacuum Sample project. The Docker image is based on Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) with ROS 2 Jazzy.

Note: The O3DE simulation is also compatible with Ubuntu 22.04 and ROS 2 Humble. However, the navigation launch files have been updated for ROS 2 Jazzy and would need to be reverted for Humble. See Humble compatibility for details.

Prerequisites

• Hardware requirements of O3DE
• At least 60 GB of free disk space
• Docker installed and configured
  • Note: It is recommended to have Docker installed correctly and in a secure manner so that the Docker commands in this guide do not require elevated privileges (sudo). See Docker Engine post-installation steps for more details.
• NVIDIA Container Toolkit

Building the Docker Image

By default, the Dockerfile builds a simulation image for Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) with ROS 2 Jazzy. All Docker commands below should be run from the Docker/ directory:

cd Docker
docker build -t o3de_robot_vacuum_simulation:latest .

This creates a Docker image named o3de_robot_vacuum_simulation that contains the simulation launcher, the navigation stack, and helper scripts (LaunchSimulation.bash and LaunchNavStack.bash).

You can also create a separate image that contains only the navigation stack and RViz2:

docker build --build-arg IMAGE_TYPE=navstack -t o3de_robot_vacuum_navstack:latest .

Running the Docker Image

Launching O3DE applications in a Docker container requires GPU acceleration support. Make sure the NVIDIA Container Toolkit is installed.

Step 1 — Allow display access

xhost +local:root

Step 2 — Launch the simulation

docker run --rm --network=host --gpus all \
  -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY \
  -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
  o3de_robot_vacuum_simulation:latest \
  /data/workspace/LaunchSimulation.bash

Step 3 — Launch the navigation stack

Once the simulation is running, start the navigation stack in a second terminal. You can use the same simulation image:

docker run --rm --network=host --gpus all \
  -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY \
  -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
  o3de_robot_vacuum_simulation:latest \
  /data/workspace/LaunchNavStack.bash

Or the dedicated navstack image if you built one separately:

docker run --rm --network=host --gpus all \
  -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY \
  -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
  o3de_robot_vacuum_navstack:latest \
  /data/workspace/LaunchNavStack.bash

Step 4 — Revoke display access when done

xhost -local:root

Note: --network=host is recommended over --network=bridge to avoid ROS 2 multicast routing issues between containers on the same machine.

Advanced Options

Custom SDK installer

Argument	Description	Default
O3DE_DEB_URL	URL of the O3DE SDK .deb file	https://o3debinaries.org/main/Latest/Linux/o3de_2605_0.deb

Custom source repositories and branches

Argument	Repository	Default
LOFT_GEM_REPO	Loft ArchVis Scene Gem	https://github.com/o3de/loft-arch-vis-sample.git
ROBOT_VAC_SAMPLE_REPO	Robot Vacuum Sample	https://github.com/o3de/RobotVacuumSample.git

Argument	Repository	Default
LOFT_GEM_BRANCH	Loft ArchVis Scene Gem	main
ROBOT_VAC_SAMPLE_BRANCH	Robot Vacuum Sample	main

Humble compatibility

The O3DE simulation is also compatible with Ubuntu 22.04 and ROS 2 Humble. However, the navigation launch files in the launch/ directory have been updated for ROS 2 Jazzy in two ways:

• Plugin names in launch/config/navigation_params.yaml use the :: separator (e.g., nav2_navfn_planner::NavfnPlanner), while Humble expects / (e.g., nav2_navfn_planner/NavfnPlanner).
• The recoveries_server node (Humble) was replaced by behavior_server (Jazzy) in the same file.

To use Humble, change the Dockerfile defaults and revert those names in navigation_params.yaml:

docker build \
  --build-arg ROS_VERSION=humble \
  --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=jammy \
  -t o3de_robot_vacuum_simulation:humble .