Small city robot not working — confirmed hardware issue, not code

[btbtr24041_aarushi]

I was connected to the SmallCity Lab (FastBot) real robot for the Linux Basics for Robotics course project. The robot did not move despite the following being verified working correctly:

1. robot_interface.py started successfully and printed READY.
2. My bash scripts (using ros2 param set) reported “Set parameter successful” consistently, with live/changing scan and odometry values being read back correctly.
3. Verified with ros2 topic echo /cmd_vel that Twist messages were being published correctly (linear.x: 0.1, angular: 0.0) while my script ran.
4. Ran ros2 run teleop_twist_keyboard teleop_twist_keyboard directly and pressed the movement keys — the robot still did not move.
5. Also tried the on-screen joystick in the camera stream UI — the robot still did not move.

Since both an independent standard ROS2 tool (teleop_twist_keyboard) and the on-screen joystick failed to move the robot, this points to a hardware/connection issue on the robot itself rather than anything in my code or workspace.

From the camera feed, the robot appeared to be positioned in a corner of the arena against the track boundary.

Could you please check the FastBot hardware in the SmallCity Lab? I’d like to re-book a session once it’s confirmed working so I can complete and demonstrate my project.

Thanks for your help.

[rodrigo55]

Hi @btbtr24041_aarushi, welcome to the community!

We encountered the FastBot flipped over this morning, so maybe that had something to do with your issue.

I have just tested it and confirmed that /cmd_vel indeed moves the robot around. Please book and test it and let us know if you encounter any more problems.

Thank you