Neobotics Foundation Inc.
Install the driverNEORACER DOCS
NEORACER DOCS
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INSTALL THE DRIVER

The driver is the software that ties the Jetson to the sensors and motors.

~0 minutes

This is the entry point for updating software on a Neoracer to the latest version. The system is designed to run everything from one script located in /scripts/install.sh. This script deletes the car's existing workspaces and reinstalls the ROS2 driver and everything it depends on. For more information on the driver, see neoracer_ros2_driver.

For Jetson Orin Nano and Orin NX running JetPack 6.x (Ubuntu 22.04) with ROS2 Humble.

Installation

  1. cd into your home folder:

    bash
    cd ~

  2. Clone the installer:

    bash
    git clone https://github.com/Neobotics-Foundation-Inc/neoracer-installer.git

  3. Run the installer:

    bash
    bash neoracer-installer/scripts/install.sh
    • Review the directories it lists and type yes to confirm the erase
    • Enter your sudo password once when prompted
    • Wait 30 to 60 minutes while the driver, ROS2, and the GPU stack install

  4. Reboot when the script tells you to. Group membership, udev symlinks, and the car's services only take effect on the next boot.

    bash
    sudo reboot

To see what the installer would do without changing anything, run it with the --dry-run flag first:

bash
bash neoracer-installer/scripts/install.sh --dry-run

Expected result

The run prints three steps, then checks every component it installed:

output
Driver version
  installed:  9c6902a (v0.4.2, 2026-08-07) Merge pull request #15 from ...
  incoming:   1f4ab90 (remote HEAD)
  status:     update available (9c6902a -> 1f4ab90)

[1/3] Removing existing systems and code...
[2/3] Creating workspace folders...
[3/3] Cloning the driver and running its setup...

Driver version
  previous:   9c6902a (v0.4.2, 2026-08-07) Merge pull request #15 from ...
  installed:  1f4ab90 (v0.5.0, 2026-08-10) Add lidar scan-health watchdog
  result:     updated 9c6902a -> 1f4ab90

Running post-install diagnostics...
  [PASS] ROS2 Humble installed (/opt/ros/humble)
  [PASS] workspace built (/home/racecar/ros2_ws/install/setup.bash)
  ...
  All 36 checks passed.

The version the car is on before the run, and the one it will be moved to, are both shown before you confirm the erase, and again once the driver is in place.

After the reboot you have a built ~/ros2_ws, the racecar command in every new terminal, JupyterLab on port 8888, the status dashboard on port 8080, and the teleop stack starting automatically at boot.

A [WARN] line for a /dev/osrbot_* device means that peripheral was unplugged or powered off during the run; plug it in and reboot. Any [FAIL] line names the setup script to re-run.

Troubleshooting

Every run writes a log to neoracer-installer/logs/. Send the newest one when you ask for help:

bash
ls -t ~/neoracer-installer/logs/install_*.log | head -1

That file carries every command and its output, all diagnostic results, and a snapshot of the car's hardware and software state before and after the run, which is usually enough to answer a question without touching the car. It identifies the machine (board serial, MAC addresses, disk serial); it contains no passwords or key material.

Re-running the installer is safe and should be the first thing to try after a failed run. If this does not resolve the issue, please send the .log file of the installer run to the developers for further inspection.

Documentation

This page is summarized from the GitHub repository neoracer-installer.