We provide tutorials to learn applying and using the SmartMDSD Toolchain. We recommend to go through the material in the listed order. In case you get into trouble, see Contact and Support. Some of the tutorials are also available as video tutorial in a YouTube Playlist

In addition, note our list of HowTo's that provide very precise and short descriptions of a specific task in the SmartMDSD Toolchain.

If you only want to try things out but do not want to touch your system, please use the Virtual Machine setup. Even though you can follow all tutorials with the virtual machine, we recommend to setup an own enviroment for tutorial levels „advanced“ and „experienced“.

This lesson guides you through the SmartMDSD Toolchain and software development environment to get an overview and comfortable entry. The effort to follow these tutorials is fairly low since we provide a virtual machine image (virtual machine appliance) with everything set-up and ready-to-go.

• Getting Started with the Virtual Machine and the SmartMDSD Toolchain
  How to download the virtual machine, how set it into operation, and where to look around.

• Simple System: Laser Obstacle Avoid
  Explore and run a simple obstacle avoidance robot in simulation.

• A More Complex System using the Flexible Navigation Stack
  Explore and run a more complex system in simulation: the flexible navigation stack that that is in use with real-world service robots.

• Developing Your First Software Component
  How to develop a simple Laser Obstacle Avoidance component.
  Also available as video tutorial.

• Developing Your First System: Composing Software Components
  Compose a simple laser obstacle avoid system with the Pioneer P3dx robot and the Player/Stage simulator.
  Also available as video tutorial.

• Developing Your First Domain Model
  Complete the picture of component modeling and become able to fully develop your component with custom services: understand how to model a service definition and communication object.

This lesson describes how to deploy software components to real-world robots. In the examples, we use a Pioneer P3DX robot.

• Deploying the Flexible Navigation Stack
  We use the previously developed system (Pioneer P3DX navigation) to deploy it on a real robot.

• Creating your Own Real-World Deployment
  We extend the system that was developed in Developing Your First System: Composing Software Components to make it work on real robot. We focus on the differences between deployment for simulator and deployment for real-world.

This lesson describes how to use the SmartMDSD Toolchain with the OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA). More specifically, the lesson describes how to model and use a Mixed-Port Component for OPC UA.

• Accessing an OPC UA Device: Using the Plain OPC UA Port (DeviceClient) to create a Mixed-Port Component
  This tutorial describes how component supplier models a mixed port software component with a plain OPC-UA port to communicate with a OPC UA enabled devices.
  Also available as video tutorial [Outdated Video: Refer text tutorial].

• Composing a System with OPC UA Mixed-Port Components
  This tutorial composes the mixed-port component together with other software components to a system.
  Also available as video tutorial.

• Developing an OPC UA Server: Using the Plain OPC UA Port (ReadServer)
  This tutorial shows how to develop a mixed-port component with an Plain OPC UA Server Port (ReadServer).
  Also available as video tutorial

This expert-level lesson describes how to access ROS nodes from the SmartMDSD Toolchain, i.e. how to use an existing ROS subsystem with the SmartMDSD Toolchain. More specifically, the lesson describes how to model and use a Mixed-Port Component for ROS.

• Mixed-Port for ROS: Accessing ROS nodes from software components
  This tutorial describes how to model a Mixed-Port Component for ROS in order to access ROS nodes from software components in the SmartMDSD Toolchain.

This expert-level lesson describes everything you need to get started with the SmartMDSD Toolchain and Raspberry Pi. We will use the example of a LED-powered traffic light.

• Working with the Raspberry Pi: Installation
  This tutorial provides Raspberry Pi specific installation instructions and general remarks to work with the SmartMDSD Toolchain and the Raspberry Pi.

• Developing Software Components for the Raspberry Pi using GPIO Pins
  This tutorial describes how to develop software components using the SmartMDSD Toolchain. We use the WiringPi library to access the GPIO pins.

• Composing a System for the Raspberry Pi
  This tutorial describes how to compose a system that runs components on the RaspberryPi and your development computer.

This advanced lesson describes how to use the SmartMDSD Toolchain with the GoPiGo Robot from Dexter Industries. The lesson covers a tutorial for getting started in pure software using simulation and how to operate the hardware robot. A video demonstration of the GoPiGo and Webots simulator is available at https://youtu.be/fEBv-Lc6FlM

• SmartMDSD and GoPiGo using Webots simulator
  How to get started with the webots robot simulator.

• SmartMDSD and GoPiGo Hardware
  How to work with the hardware robot.

Dependency Graphs are networks of dependencies that emerge from the flow of system-level characteristics, controlled by evidence and business logic. Dependency Objects are entities that encapsulate a distinct system characteristic of the system that is relevant to and are altered by components and connectors that compose the system.

This lesson describes how to use the SmartMDSD Toolchain with SmartDG: The Dependency-Graph extensions for SmartMDSD Toolchain. More specifically, these lessons give a detailed account of how to add Dependency Graph Elements to existing SmartMDSD components and system projects. This tutorial is also available as video tutorial.

• SmartDG : Import and Use Tier-2 Environments and Service models
  A Tier-2 SmartDG Environment allows declaration of domain-specific Dependency Objects, Software Components, and approved Transfer Functions for Components provided by their manufacturers. This tutorial describes how to import and use a Tier-2 domain-specific SmartDG Environment model. This tutorial further describes how to import any SmartDG Service model in the workspace.
  This tutorial is also available as video tutorial.
  

• SmartDG : Adding SmartDG Dependency Objects to SmartMDSD Components
  Dependency Objects are entities that encapsulate a distinct system characteristic of the system that is relevant to and are altered by components and connectors that compose the system. This tutorial adds SmartDG Dependency Objects to an existing SmartMDSD component project.
  This tutorial is also available as video tutorial.
  

• SmartDG : Adding SmartDG Dependency Graphs to SmartMDSD Systems
  Dependency Graphs are networks of dependencies that emerge from the flow of system-level characteristics, controlled by evidence and business logic. This tutorial adds SmartDG Dependency Graphs to an existing SmartMDSD system project.
  This tutorial is also available as video tutorial.
  

• SmartDG : Dependency-Graph extensions for SmartMDSD Toolchain
  Lists and links to SmartDG Tutorials and Repositories.
  

To use the SmartDG feature, wait for SmartMDSD Eclipse Toolchain and Virtual Machine (To be released very soon)

• Accessing the Webots Simulator in the SmartMDSD Toolchain
  This advanced tutorial describes how to use the SmartMDSD Toolchain together with the Webots simulator.

• Exercises: Navigate through a Simple Scenario in Simulation
  This is a supplement to the Laser Obstacle Avoid and First Software Component Tutorials. It describes a set of additional worlds/environments for the Player/Stage simulator to test obstacle avoidance algorithms.

• Deploying additional files
• Component Mode Definition and usage + life-cycle
• Skill modeling
• Tutorial Template

• See video tutorials of the v2-generation of the SmartMDSD Toolchain at YouTube.
• You can also find screencasts of the SmartMDSD Toolchain's first generation as of 2009 (outdated).