Since you're daily driving Arch and using Neovim, you want a README that is technically dense but quick to scan. This is the Nova Project Manual, tailored for your specific UID-mapped Docker workflow.

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🏁 Project Nova: F1TENTH / ICRA 2026 Devkit

Nova is a high-performance autonomous racing environment built for the 2026 ICRA competition. It uses a custom-layered Docker architecture to bridge an Arch Linux host (Neovim/Development) with a ROS 2 Humble container (Simulation/Execution).

🏗 Architecture

• Host: Arch Linux (UID 1000) + Neovim
• Container: Ubuntu 22.04 + ROS 2 Humble + CUDA 12.x
• Sync: Bidirectional volume mount on ./src with UID/GID mapping to prevent Permission denied errors.

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🛠 Prerequisites

1. NVIDIA Container Toolkit: Ensure nvidia-smi works on the host.
2. Docker Compose: Installed on Arch (sudo pacman -S docker-compose).
3. X11 Permissions: Run xhost +local:docker before launching to enable GUI/RViz.

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🚀 Getting Started

1. Environment Setup

Create a .env file in the root directory to map your Arch user to the container:

# Get your IDs
echo "UID=$(id -u)" > .env
echo "GID=$(id -g)" >> .env

2. Launch the Devkit

Build and start the Nova environment:

docker compose build
docker compose up -d

3. Enter the Cockpit

Jump into the container to run ROS 2 commands:

docker exec -it nova_devkit bash

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💻 Development Workflow

Writing Code

Edit files inside ./src using Neovim on your Arch host. Changes are instantly visible inside the container.

Building & Running

Inside the nova_devkit container:

# 1. Build the Nova packages
cd /home/ros2_ws
colcon build --symlink-install

# 2. Source the environment
source install/setup.bash

# 3. Launch the Follow the Gap (FTG) Node
ros2 run nova_ftg ftg_node

GUI / Simulation

To visualize the LiDAR scans and the car's trajectory in RViz:

ros2 launch autodrive_roboracer bringup_graphics.launch.py

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📦 Submission Strategy

When Nova is ready for the competition, use the provided Dockerfile to "bake" your source code into a portable image:

1. Build Final Image:

   docker build -t nova_submission:latest .

2. Export for Judges:

   docker save nova_submission:latest | gzip > nova_icra_practice.tar.gz

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⚠️ Troubleshooting

• Permission Errors: Run sudo rm -rf build/ install/ log/ on the host and rebuild.
• Display Issues: Run xhost +local:docker on Arch.
• Command Not Found: Ensure you have source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash in your container's .bashrc.

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Note: This setup is optimized for the 2026-icra-practice image. Ensure the image: tag in compose.yaml matches the latest competition release.