Logitech F710 Controller to Robotino in ROS2 Important Setup Steps

Done as from 16/04/2026 08:36 . Revert the repository to get the working version that was quoted in the documentation.

We will be running https://github.com/husarion/joy2twist, a ROS2 controller for the Logitech F710 developed by husarion. The node allows the controller to send cmd_vel messages to the Robotino. Since the install instructions are vague, there are some dependencies that you have to fix before the code will build properly in ROS2.

# Install important external repositories/dependencies for the controller.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install libspnav-dev
sudo apt install libbluetooth-dev
sudo apt install libcwiid-dev
sudo apt install joystick

cd YOUR_ROS2_WORKSPACE
source $YOUR_ROS2_INSTALLATION

cd src  # Head into source directory
git clone https://github.com/husarion/joy2twist.git
git clone https://github.com/ros-drivers/joystick_drivers.git
cd ..  # Return to higher directory

# REALLY IMPORTANT: joy is a CORE PACKAGE and the command below will overwrite it.
# This comment is written so you are aware (if another repo uses the joystick it may break something)
colcon build --symlink-install --allow-overriding joy

# Test if your controller is working (If you have multiple dongles, try all the ports)
jstest /dev/input/js0

BUG: Mouse Issue When Having Two Dongles Plugged In at Once

This only applies if you have a mouse and a Logitech dongle plugged into two different ports of the PC. Always, ALWAYS plug in the mouse dongle first, doing it before startup. There is a weird data transferring issue going on if the Logitech controller is plugged in first.

ls /dev/input/js*  # Lists all input USBs

# Check which port corresponds to which device
jstest /dev/input/js1
jstest /dev/input/js0  # etc

# Make sure the mouse dongle is js0, if not restart the PC