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SETUP.md

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Raspberry Pi Setup

This document describes the process for setting up batman-adv, which configures an Ad-Hoc mesh network on a Raspberry Pi.

Background

Standing for "better approach to mobile ad-hoc networking," B.A.T.M.A.N Advanced or batman-adv is the linux-based network routing protocol used to manage Ad-Hoc mesh networks in the Vehicle-to-Vehicle Update Delivery System. To learn more about this protocol, here is the official documentation.

Some Things to Note

  • When running on multiple Pis, ensure that all programming files are the same and that the hostname is different for each Pi.
  • You may also need to change the first line of update.txt (denoting the version number) for each Pi for the program to function.
  • To test further, try pinging another device by using the ping command in the terminal followed by the IP address of another Pi.
  • Ethernet must be unplugged for the v2v_interface program to run correctly.
  • Following this guide will disable your Pi's integrated WiFi.

Performing Initial Raspberry Pi Setup

See the official setup documentation to set up and start up your Pi.

Instead of using a wall-to-usbc adapter, you may want to use a high mAh capacity power bank to make the module portable. Additionally, you may want a 3.5 inch touchscreen to connect to the top of the Pi as a display for program statistics and progress.

Setting up batman-adv

We will configure batman-adv such that it takes over the WiFi interface wlan0 and sets up a tandem WiFi interface bat0. This enables the Pi to send network sockets over the wlan0 antenna while using IP addresses set by bat0 and deploys a mesh network.

  1. Install batctl

    batctl is a control tool for batman-adv. To install, use the command:

    sudo apt-get install batctl
    • If the batctl present in the Raspberry Pi repository is out of date, run this command to install the "latest version" (as of June 1, 2021): 
      sudo apt purge batctl -y &&  \
sudo apt install libnl-genl-3-dev libnl-3-dev -y && \
wget https://downloads.open-mesh.org/batman/releases/batman-adv-2020.4/batctl-2020.4.tar.gz &&  \
tar -xvf batctl-2020.4.tar.gz && \
cd batctl-2020.4 && \
make -j 4 && \
sudo make install

  2. Create start-batman-adv

    start-batman-adv will serve as an executable that runs the necessary commands to start the mesh network. Use the following commands to create and edit the executable:

    cd ~ && touch start-batman-adv.sh && chmod +x start-batman-adv.sh
sudo nano start-batman-adv.sh

    On the nano editor, add the following to start-batman-adv:

    #!/bin/bash

# Tell batman-adv which interface to use
sudo batctl if add wlan0
sudo ifconfig bat0 mtu 1400
sudo ifconfig wlan0 mtu 1500

# Activates the interfaces for batman-adv
sudo ifconfig wlan0 up
sudo ifconfig bat0 up

  3. Configure Interfaces wlan0 and bat0

    First ensure that the interfaces are set up correctly by opening the interfaces file using the following command:

    sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

    And ensure the following line is written in the file:

    # Include files from /etc/network/interfaces.d
source-directory /etc/network/interfaces.d

    Next, create/find wlan0:

    sudo nano /etc/network/interfaced.d/wlan0

    And ensure the following is written in the file:

    auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet6 manual
    mtu 1532
    wireless-channel 1
    wireless-essid my-mesh-network
    wireless-mode ad-hoc
    wireless-ap 02:12:34:56:78:9A

    Finally, create bat0:

    sudo nano /etc/network/interfaced.d/bat0

    And ensure the following is written in the file:

    auto bat0
iface bat0 inet6 auto
    pre-up /usr/sbin/batctl if add eth0
    pre-up /usr/sbin/batctl if add wlan0

  4. Enabling Automatic Run-on-Startup

    Running the following commands will enable the Pi to start deploying a mesh network on boot:

    # Starts batman-adv at boot
echo 'batman-adv' | sudo tee --append /etc/modules

# Prevents DHCPCD from automatically configuring wlan0
echo 'denyinterfaces wlan0' | sudo tee --append /etc/dhcpcd.conf

# Enables start-batman-adv to execute at boot
echo "$(pwd)/start-batman-adv.sh" >> ~/.bashrc

  5. Reboot

    Reboot with the following command to put all changes into effect:

    sudo reboot

  6. Test for a Functioning Mesh Network

    Test by running the following two commands:

    sudo batctl if
sudo batctl n

    If the first command gives the following response, then the network is functioning:

    wlan0: active

    If the second command gives at least one MAC address, those devices are connected to the mesh network.

Setting Program to Run on Startup

Assuming the program was downloaded, to set the v2v_interface program to run on boot, run the following command:

sudo nano ~/.bashrc

And scroll to the bottom of the file. At the very bottom of the file, add two lines which contain the following:

sleep 15
cd v2v_interface
python3 main.py

Then run the following command:

sudo nano /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart

And at the very bottom of the file, add a line which contains the following:

@lxterminal

Then reboot to put the changes into effect:

sudo reboot

Setting up the Touchscreen

Depending on which screen you use, instructions may very. The following instructions use an UCTRONICS 3.5 Inch Touchscreen for program input.

  1. Install UCTRONICS Drivers

    See the official instructions to set up the Raspberry Pi for the touchscreen.

    After the driver installation process reboots your Pi, you may have to change the display resolution. To do this on Raspberry Pi OS, click the Raspberry Pi button in the upper-left corner and go to Preferences -> Rasbperry Pi Configuration -> Display. Click the button titled Set Resolution... and set the resolution to CEA Mode 2 720x480 60Hz 4:3. When you exit or press OK, the Pi will restart with a better resolution. If you get a black border around your screen, go back to Raspberry Pi Configuration -> Display and check Disable where it says Overscan:.

  2. Rotate Display 90°

    Since the program has a vertical GUI, rotating the screen 90° will allow it to be displayed. To do this, run the following command:

    sudo nano /boot/config.txt

    And scroll to the bottom of the file. At the very bottom of the file, add one line which contains the following:

    display_rotate=1

    Do not reboot yet. We must also rotate the touch interfaces. To do this, run the following command:

    sudo nano ~/.bashrc

    And again scroll to the bottom of the file. At the very bottom of the file, add one line which contains the following:

    xinput set-prop 'ADS7846 Touchscreen' 'Coordinate Transformation Matrix' 0 1 0 -1 0 1 0 0 1

    Then reboot to put the changes into effect:

    sudo reboot