RoboBoat Status Light

Repository inspection

The initial repository contains Boat_light.py, a standalone loop with four placeholder boolean checks and a six-layer JSON output, and Boat_lightv2.py, which contains only minimal items. There are no package manifests, ROS launch files, configuration files, or existing tests.

Confirmed environment and open questions

The inspected machine is Windows with Python 3.14.3. No ros2 or colcon command, ROS-related environment variables, ROS process, common ROS install directory, serial port, or connected LED/Arduino/USB-serial device was found. The selected Python environment has no rclpy, sensor_msgs, or common serial/NeoPixel libraries. These checks describe this machine at inspection time; they do not establish what is installed on the boat or another computer.

No ROS node, topic, message type, thruster command encoding, hardware feedback source, or LED controller/wiring is confirmed. In particular, sensor_msgs/msg/PointCloud2 and the 1100–1900 PWM range are configurable examples from the project specification, not verified hardware settings.

Prototype

status_monitor.py is a ROS-independent, read-only validation core. Callers provide discovered node/topic/message facts and component-specific observations. Unconfigured or unavailable facts remain GRAY; configured limits are not inferred from topic names or hardware assumptions. Thruster command correctness and physical response are separate facets, and missing physical feedback stays GRAY.

The same module includes an in-memory 16×16 display simulation. Its logical grid is indexed grid[y][x], starts at the top-left, accepts configurable component-to-pixel groups, and maps coordinates to a row-major physical index with optional serpentine rows. It does not access or publish to hardware.

This is not yet a ROS discovery/subscription adapter. A ROS 2 Jazzy machine, actual topic/node inventory and message definitions, the thruster command encoding and verified limits, any hardware feedback topic, and the LED controller/model/wiring are needed before those integrations can be safely implemented.

Run the prototype tests

From this directory, run:

python -m unittest -v

The tests use simulated observations only. To use the validators, construct LidarConfig or ThrusterConfig with limits confirmed for the target vehicle, then pass in observations obtained by a future read-only ROS adapter. Do not enable physical LED output until its controller interface and wiring have been identified.