Contents
Virtual Terminals
On Baxter, there are a total of 4 useful virtual terminals, a.k.a. virtual consoles or screens, configured on the Robot's computer. Each virtual terminal serves a different function and displays different information. They are usually referred to by the TTY device file that represents them (e.g. the first virtual terminal is TTY1).
Each virtual terminal can be accessed by pluggin in a keyboard to Baxter's waist and pressing Ctrl+Alt+(One of the F# function keys).
- Network Info Display
- One of the most useful features of the virtual terminals is the robot's network and system info display on TTY3.
TTY1 - Login Terminal
This is the login terminal. If you want to access the robot directly, you can log in here with the same user account as given on the SSH Page.
Ctrl+Alt+F1
TTY2 - GUI Display
This is the terminal on which the Robot's software and the GUI run. When you publish Images to the /robot/xdisplay topic, this is where they will display. This is the default terminal, and you should return here when not using the Network Info Display or the FSM.
Ctrl+Alt+F2
TTY3 - Network Info Display
This terminal displays the network and the system information for the robot. This display will update every 5 seconds with the robot's current network state. It displays the Robot Hostname and the current relevant network interfaces information from ifconfig, including the MAC Address and robot IP Address.
Ctrl+Alt+F3
When the robot has obtained a valid network IP address, either via DHCP or static configuration, there will only be one block of network information displayed, as below. If the robot is only using a self-assigned IP Address using Avahi-AutoIP (i.e. it is has NOT successfully connected to an external network), it will display two blocks of network information - one with the constant information (e.g. MAC Address), and a second underneath labeled "Avahi".
Note: Avahi Daemon is STILL running in the first case of a valid network connection, it is just broadcasting the <robot hostname>.local same information as the network connection, so we don't duplicate the info on the display.
| Network Connected | Link-Local (avahi-autoip) |
|---|---|
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TTY4 - Field Service Menu
The Field Service Menu (FSM) runs on this terminal. To learn more about the FSM, visit the FSM page.
Ctrl+Alt+F4
