Installation

The steps for installation use Anaconda for a virtual environment. Other python virtual environments but Anaconda has worked well for 2129 Ultraviolet. Make sure you are using python 3.8 as this is compatible with all of the dependencies.

NOTE: Issues may occur when attempting to install python dependencies on Windows. This is caused by an issue in the apriltags library, not this project.

1. Clone repository
   On Linux, run the command git clone https://github.com/SouthwestRoboticsProgramming/TagTracker.git
   On Windows, clone the repository using GitHub Desktop or by downloading the zipped folder.

2. Install cmake using sudo apt install cmake on linux. It can be downloaded for Windows here.

3. Install Anaconda using the steps listed on docs.anaconda.com.

4. Create an Anaconda virtual environment, this lets us have a specific version of python set up for AprilTag processing.
   On Linux, run the command conda create -n apriltags python=3.8.
   On Windows, open the Anaconda Command Prompt through the start menu. Once this is open, run the command conda create -n apriltags python=3.8.

5. Activate the Anaconda environment to start installing dependencies
   In either the Linux shell or the Anaconda Command Prompt, run the command conda activate apriltags.

6. Install dependencies using PIP
   Using the Linux shell or the Anaconda Command Prompt, navigate to the cloned repository. Once in the directory TagTracker/, run the command pip install -r requirements.txt.

7. If Required Install Systemd Service
   If you require it, you can use the provided default systemd service provided at apriltag_detector.service. To Install it replace %s with the location of the main script, and %p with the base path of the TagTracker project (use the absolute path starting with /. Afterwards move the file to /etc/systemd/system/apriltag_detector.service. The project will now start on boot. Further explanation of the functionality provided by systemd can be found here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemd