Prerequisite setup is automated. For Ubuntu Xenial, simply run:
sudo ./setup/ubuntu/16.04/install_prereqs.sh
For Ubuntu Bionic, simply run:
sudo ./setup/ubuntu/18.04/install_prereqs.sh
You may need to respond to interactive prompts to confirm that you agree to add
the appropriate Drake apt repository for your release
(https://drake-apt.csail.mit.edu/xenial/ or
https://drake-apt.csail.mit.edu/bionic/) to your system for certain
development packages.