Orbbec SDK ROS 2 is a wrapper for the Orbbec 3D camera that provides seamless integration with the ROS 2 environment. It supports ROS 2 Foxy, Humble, and Jazzy distributions.

• Orbbec ROS2 SDK
  • Table of Contents
  • Installation Instructions
  • Getting start
  • Efficient intra-process communication:
    • Example
      • Manually loading multiple components into the same process
      • Using a launch file
    • Limitations
  • Use V4L2 backend
  • Launch parameters
  • Predefined presets
  • Depth work mode switch
  • Configuration of depth NFOV and WFOV modes
  • All available service for camera control
  • All available topics
  • Network device enumeration
  • Multi-Camera
  • Compressed Image
  • Use hardware decoder to decode JPEG
    • rockchip and Amlogic
    • Nvidia Jetson
  • Check which profiles the camera supports
  • Building a Debian Package
    • Preparing the Environment
    • Configuring ROS Dependencies
    • Building the Package
  • Launch files
  • Product support
  • DDS Tuning
  • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Unexpected Crash
    • No Data Stream from Multiple Cameras
    • Additional Troubleshooting
    • Why Are There So Many Launch Files?
  • Other useful links
  • License

Install ROS 2

• Please refer to the official ROS 2 installation guide guidance

If your ROS 2 command does not auto-complete, put the following two lines into your .bashrc or .zshrc

eval "$(register-python-argcomplete3 ros2)"
eval "$(register-python-argcomplete3 colcon)"

Create colcon workspace

mkdir -p ~/ros2_ws/src

Get source code

cd ~/ros2_ws/src
git clone https://github.com/orbbec/OrbbecSDK_ROS2.git

Install deb dependencies

# assume you have sourced ROS environment, same blow
sudo apt install libgflags-dev nlohmann-json3-dev  \
ros-$ROS_DISTRO-image-transport ros-$ROS_DISTRO-image-publisher ros-$ROS_DISTRO-camera-info-manager \
ros-$ROS_DISTRO-diagnostic-updater ros-$ROS_DISTRO-diagnostic-msgs ros-$ROS_DISTRO-statistics-msgs \
ros-$ROS_DISTRO-backward-ros libdw-dev

Install udev rules.

cd  ~/ros2_ws/src/OrbbecSDK_ROS2/orbbec_camera/scripts
sudo bash install_udev_rules.sh
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm trigger

cd ~/ros2_ws/
# build release, Default is Debug
colcon build --event-handlers  console_direct   --cmake-args  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

Launch camera node

• On terminal 1

. ./install/setup.bash
ros2 launch orbbec_camera astra.launch.py # or other launch file, see below table

• On terminal 2

. ./install/setup.bash
rviz2

Select the topic you want to display

• List topics / services/ parameters ( on terminal 3)

ros2 topic list
ros2 service list
ros2 param list

• Get device info

ros2 service call /camera/get_device_info orbbec_camera_msgs/srv/GetDeviceInfo '{}'

• Get SDK version

ros2 service call /camera/get_sdk_version orbbec_camera_msgs/srv/GetString '{}'

• Get exposure

ros2 service call /camera/get_color_exposure orbbec_camera_msgs/srv/GetInt32 '{}'

If your check ir or depth, please change /camera/get_color_exposure to /camera/get_ir_exposure or /camera/get_depth_exposure, Same below.

• Get gain

ros2 service call /camera/get_color_gain orbbec_camera_msgs/srv/GetInt32 '{}'

• Get white balance

ros2 service call /camera/get_white_balance orbbec_camera_msgs/srv/GetInt32 '{}'

• Set auto exposure

ros2 service call /camera/set_color_auto_exposure std_srvs/srv/SetBool '{data: false}'

• Set white balance

ros2 service call /camera/set_white_balance orbbec_camera_msgs/srv/SetInt32 '{data: 4600}'

• Set laser enable

ros2 service call  /camera/set_laser_enable std_srvs/srv/SetBool "{data: true}"

• toggle sensor

ros2 service call /camera/toggle_ir std_srvs/srv/SetBool "{data : true}"

• save point cloud

ros2 service call /camera/save_point_cloud std_srvs/srv/Empty "{}"

Our ROS2 Wrapper node supports zero-copy communications if loaded in the same process as a subscriber node. This can reduce copy times on image/pointcloud topics, especially with big frame resolutions and high FPS.

You will need to launch a component container and launch our node as a component together with other component nodes. Further details on "Composing multiple nodes in a single process" can be found here.

Further details on efficient intra-process communication can be found here.

• Start the component:

  ros2 run rclcpp_components component_container

• Add the wrapper:

  ros2 component load /ComponentManager orbbec_camera orbbec_camera::OBCameraNodeDriver -e use_intra_process_comms:=true

  Load other component nodes (consumers of the wrapper topics) in the same way.

ros2 launch orbbec_camera gemini_intra_process_demo_launch.py

• Node components are currently not supported on RCLPY
• Compressed images using image_transport will be disabled as this isn't supported with intra-process communication

To enable the V4L2 backend for the Gemini2 series cameras, follow these steps:

1. The Gemini2 series cameras support the V4L2 backend.
2. Open the config/OrbbecSDKConfig_v1.0.xml file.
3. Set the navigation option to LinuxUVCBackend.
4. Change the backend setting to V4L2.

Note: The V4L2 backend is not enabled by default.

The following are the launch parameters available:

• connection_delay: The delay time in milliseconds for reopening the device. Some devices, such as Astra mini, require a longer time to initialize and reopening the device immediately can cause firmware crashes when hot plugging.

• enable_point_cloud: Enables the point cloud.

• enable_colored_point_cloud: Enables the RGB point cloud.

• point_cloud_qos, [color|depth|ir]_qos, [color|depth|ir]_camera_info_qos: ROS 2 Message Quality of Service (QoS) settings. The possible values are SYSTEM_DEFAULT, DEFAULT, PARAMETER_EVENTS, SERVICES_DEFAULT, PARAMETERS, SENSOR_DATA and are case-insensitive. These correspond to rmw_qos_profile_system_default, rmw_qos_profile_default, rmw_qos_profile_parameter_events, rmw_qos_profile_services_default, rmw_qos_profile_parameters, and SENSOR_DATA, respectively.

• enable_d2c_viewer: Publishes the D2C overlay image (for testing only).

• device_num: The number of devices. This must be filled in if multiple cameras are required.

• color_width, color_height, color_fps: The resolution and frame rate of the color stream.

• ir_width, ir_height, ir_fps: The resolution and frame rate of the IR stream.

• depth_width, depth_height, depth_fps: The resolution and frame rate of the depth stream.

• enable_color: Enables the RGB camera.

• enable_depth: Enables the depth camera.

• enable_ir: Enables the IR camera.

• depth_registration: Enables alignment of the depth frame to the color frame. This field is required when the enable_colored_point_cloud is set to true.

• usb_port: The USB port of the camera. This is required when multiple cameras are used.

• enable_accel: Enables the accelerometer.

• accel_rate: The frequency of the accelerometer, the optional values are 1.5625hz, 3.125hz, 6.25hz, 12.5hz, 25hz, 50hz, 100hz, 200hz, 500hz, 1khz, 2khz, 4khz, 8khz, 16khz, 32khz. The specific value depends on the current camera.

• accel_range: The range of the accelerometer, the optional values are 2g, 4g, 8g, 16g. The specific value depends on the current camera.

• enable_gyro: Enables the gyroscope.

• gyro_rate: The frequency of the gyroscope, the optional values are 1.5625hz, 3.125hz, 6.25hz, 12.5hz, 25hz, 50hz, 100hz, 200hz, 500hz, 1khz, 2khz, 4khz, 8khz, 16khz, 32khz. The specific value depends on the current camera.

• gyro_range: The range of the gyroscope, the optional values are 16dps, 31dps, 62dps, 125dps, 250dps, 500dps, 1000dps, 2000dps. The specific value depends on the current camera.

• enumerate_net_device: Enables the function of enumerating network devices. True means enabled, false means disabled. This feature is only supported by Femto Mega and Gemini 2 XL devices. When accessing these devices through the network, the IP address of the device needs to be configured in advance. The enable switch needs to be set to true.

• depth_filter_config: Configures the loading path for the depth filtering configuration file. By default, the depth filtering configuration file is located in the /config/depthfilter directory. Supported only on Gemini2.

• depth_precision: The depth precision should be in the format 1mm. The default value is 1mm.

• enable_laser: Enables the laser. The default value is true.

• laser_on_off_mode: Laser on/off alternate mode, 0: off, 1: on-off alternate, 2: off-on alternate. The default value is 0.

• device_preset: The default value is Default. Only the G330 series is supported. For more information, refer to the G330 documentation. Please refer to the table below to set the device_preset value based on your use case. The value should be one of the preset names listed in the table.

• enable_decimation_filter: This filter effectively reduces the depth scene complexity. The filter runs on kernel sizes [2x2] to [8x8] pixels. The image size is scaled down proportionally in both dimensions to preserve the aspect ratio.

• enable_hdr_merge: This filter is used jointly with the depth HDR function. By merging consecutive depth images of alternating exposure values, we can overcome challenges in acquiring depth values for under-illuminated and over-illuminated objects simultaneously.

• enable_sequence_id_filter: This filter is used jointly with the depth HDR function and outputs only the sequence with the specified sequence ID.

• enable_threshold_filter: This filter preserves depth values of interest and omits depth values out of scope.

• enable_noise_removal_filter: This filter removes speckle noise in clusters and gives rise to a less-filled depth map.

• enable_spatial_filter: This filter performs multiple iterations of processing as specified by the magnitude parameter to enhance the smoothness of depth data. It is also capable of filling small holes in depth maps.

• enable_temporal_filter: This filter is intended to improve the depth data persistency by manipulating per-pixel values based on previous frames. The filter performs a single pass on the data, adjusting the depth values while also updating the tracking history.

• enable_hole_filling_filter: This filter fills all holes in the depth map using the specified mode.

• retry_on_usb3_detection_failure: If the camera is connected to a USB 2.0 port and is not detected, the system will attempt to reset the camera up to three times. This setting aims to prevent USB 3.0 devices from being incorrectly recognized as USB 2.0. It is recommended to set this parameter to false when using a USB 2.0 connection to avoid unnecessary resets.

• enable_3d_reconstruction_mode: Enables 3D reconstruction mode. Default is false. When set to true, the camera laser operates in on-off mode, capturing IR images (laser off) for VSLAM localization and depth images (laser on) for point cloud computation.

• tf_publish_rate: The rate at which the camera publishes dynamic transforms. The default value is 0.0, which means static transforms are published.

• time_domain: The frame time domain, string type, can be device, global, or system. device means using the hardware timestamp from the camera, system means using the timestamp when the PC received the first packet of data or frame, and global is used for synchronized time across multiple devices, aligning data from different sources to a common time base.

• enable_sync_host_time: Enables synchronization of the host time with the camera time. The default value is true, if use global time, set to false. Some old devices may not support this feature.

• config_file_path: The path to the YAML configuration file. The default value is "". If the configuration file is not specified, the default parameters from the launch file will be used. If you want to use a custom configuration file, please refer to gemini_330_series.launch.py. enable_heartbeat enables the heartbeat function, which is set to false by default. If set to true, the camera node will send heartbeat signals to the firmware, and if hardware logging is desired, it should also be set to true.

• log_level : SDK log level, the default value is info, the optional values are debug, info, warn, error, fatal.

• enable_color_undistortion: Enables color undistortion, the default value is false. Note that our color cameras exhibit minimal distortion, and typically, undistortion is not necessary.

IMPORTANT: Please carefully read the instructions regarding software filtering settings at this link. If you are uncertain, do not modify these settings.

Choose the appropriate preset name based on your specific use case and set it as the value for the device_preset parameter.

Orbbec SDK ROS 2 supports the depth work mode switch. The depth work mode switch is supported by Gemini 2, Gemini 2 L, and Femto and Femto Bolt cameras.

• Before starting the camera, depth work mode (depth_work_mode) can be configured for the corresponding xxx.launch.py file's support.
• The depth work mode switch is supported by Gemini 2, Gemini 2 L, and Gemini 2 XL cameras.
• The default depth work mode configuration of xxx.launch.py is the camera's default configuration. If you need to modify it, you can switch to the corresponding mode as needed.
• The specific camera depth work mode support types can be found in the comments of the depth mode.

# Depth work mode support is as follows:
# Unbinned Dense Default
# Unbinned Sparse Default
# Binned Sparse Default
# Obstacle Avoidance
DeclareLaunchArgument('depth_work_mode', default_value='')

• View depth work modes:

ros2 run orbbec_camera list_depth_work_mode_node

For the Femto Mega and Femto Bolt devices, the NFOV and WFOV modes are implemented by configuring the resolution of Depth and IR in the launch file. In launch file, depth_width、depth_height、ir_width、ir_height represents the resolution of the depth and the resolution of the IR. The frame fps and resolution of IR must be consistent with the depth. The correspondence between different modes and resolutions is as follows:

• NFOV unbinned: 640 x 576.
• NFOV binned: 320 x 288.
• WFOV unbinned: 1024 x 1024.
• WFOV binned: 512 x 512.

The name of the following service already expresses its function. However, it should be noted that the corresponding set_[ir|depth|color]* and get[ir|depth|color]* services are only available if you set enable[ir|depth|color] to true in the stream that corresponds to the argument of the launch file.

• /camera/get_auto_white_balance
• /camera/get_color_exposure
• /camera/get_color_gain
• /camera/get_depth_exposure
• /camera/get_depth_gain
• /camera/get_device_info
• /camera/get_ir_exposure
• /camera/get_ir_gain
• /camera/get_ldp_status
• /camera/get_sdk_version
• /camera/get_white_balance
• /camera/set_auto_white_balance
• /camera/set_color_auto_exposure
• /camera/set_color_exposure
• /camera/set_color_gain
• /camera/set_depth_auto_exposure
• /camera/set_depth_exposure
• /camera/set_depth_gain
• /camera/set_fan_work_mode
• /camera/set_floor_enable
• /camera/set_ir_auto_exposure
• /camera/set_ir_exposure
• /camera/set_ir_gain
• /camera/set_laser_enable
• /camera/set_ldp_enable
• /camera/set_white_balance
• /camera/toggle_color
• /camera/toggle_depth
• /camera/toggle_ir

• /camera/color/camera_info : The color camera info.
• /camera/color/image_raw: The color stream image.
• /camera/depth/camera_info: The depth stream image.
• /camera/depth/image_raw: The depth stream image
• /camera/depth/points : The point cloud, only available when enable_point_cloud is true.
• /camera/depth_registered/points: The colored point cloud, only available when enable_colored_point_cloud is true.
• /camera/ir/camera_info: The IR camera info.
• /camera/ir/image_raw: The IR stream image
• /camera/accel/sample: Acceleration data stream enable_sync_output_accel_gyroturned off，enable_accelturned on
• /camera/gyro/sample: Gyroscope data stream，enable_sync_output_accel_gyroturned off，enable_gyro`turned on
• camera/gyro_accel/sample: Synchronized data stream of acceleration and gyroscope，enable_sync_output_accel_gyro turned on
• /diagnostics: The diagnostic information of the camera, Currently, the diagnostic information only includes the temperature of the camera.

Currently, the network device enumeration function is supported only by the Femto Mega device. When accessing this device over the network, if enumerate_net_device is set to true, the device will be automatically enumerated, eliminating the need to configure the IP address in advance or set the enable switch to true. The specific configuration methods are as follows:

• enumerate_net_device: enumeration network device automatically, only supported by Femto Mega. if enumerate_net_device set to true, the device will be enumerated automatically,No need to set the net_device_ip and net_device_port parameters.
• net_device_ip: The IP address of the device.
• net_device_port: The port number of the device.

• To get the usb_port of the camera, plug in the camera and run the following command in the terminal:

ros2 run orbbec_camera list_devices_node

• Set the device_num parameter to the number of cameras you have.
• Go to the OrbbecSDK_ROS2/launch/multi_xxx.launch.py file and change the usb_port.
• Don't forget to put the include tag inside the group tag. Otherwise, the parameter values of different cameras may become contaminated.

from launch import LaunchDescription
from launch.actions import DeclareLaunchArgument, IncludeLaunchDescription, GroupAction, ExecuteProcess
from launch.launch_description_sources import PythonLaunchDescriptionSource
from launch_ros.actions import Node
from ament_index_python.packages import get_package_share_directory
import os


def generate_launch_description():
    # Include launch files
    package_dir = get_package_share_directory('orbbec_camera')
    launch_file_dir = os.path.join(package_dir, 'launch')
    launch1_include = IncludeLaunchDescription(
        PythonLaunchDescriptionSource(
            os.path.join(launch_file_dir, 'gemini2L.launch.py')
        ),
        launch_arguments={
            'camera_name': 'camera_01',
            'usb_port': '6-2.4.4.2',  # replace your usb port here
            'device_num': '2'
        }.items()
    )

    launch2_include = IncludeLaunchDescription(
        PythonLaunchDescriptionSource(
            os.path.join(launch_file_dir, 'gemini2L.launch.py')
        ),
        launch_arguments={
            'camera_name': 'camera_02',
            'usb_port': '6-2.4.1',  # replace your usb port here
            'device_num': '2'
        }.items()
    )

    # If you need more cameras, just add more launch_include here, and change the usb_port and device_num

    # Launch description
    ld = LaunchDescription([
        GroupAction([launch1_include]),
        GroupAction([launch2_include]),
    ])

    return ld

• To launch the cameras, run the following command:

ros2 launch orbbec_camera multi_camera.launch.py

You can use image_transport to compress the image using jpeg. Below is an example of how to use it:

To access the compressed color image, you can use the following command:

ros2 topic echo /camera/color/image_raw/compressed --no-arr

This command will allow you to receive the compressed color image from the specified topic.

Depends on rockchip-mpp-dev and rockchip-rga-dev, not all systems have these two packages, the names may be different, please search by yourself. Open CMakeLists.txt and set USE_RK_HW_DECODER to ON.

Depends on: jetson_multimedia_api,libyuv. Open CMakeLists.txt and set USE_NV_HW_DECODER to ON.

ros2 run orbbec_camera list_camera_profile_mode_node

Before starting, install the required tools:

sudo apt install debhelper fakeroot python3-bloom

Add the following YAML file to your system at /etc/ros/rosdep/sources.list.d/00-orbbec.yaml. Make sure to replace focal with the codename of your Ubuntu version and humble with your ROS2 distribution name:

orbbec_camera_msgs:
  ubuntu:
    focal: [ ros-humble-orbbec-camera-msgs ]

Next, create a new file /etc/ros/rosdep/sources.list.d/50-orbbec.list and add this line to specify the path to the YAML file:

yaml file:///etc/ros/rosdep/sources.list.d/00-orbbec.yaml

Update the rosdep database to reflect these changes:

rosdep update

Navigate to your workspace and build the project:

cd ~/ros2_ws/
colcon build --event-handlers console_direct  --cmake-args -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
. install/setup.bash
cd src/OrbbecSDK_ROS2/
bash .make_deb.sh

All launch files are essentially similar, with the primary difference being the default values of the parameters set for different models within the same series. Differences in USB standards, such as USB 2.0 versus USB 3.0, may require adjustments to these parameters. If you encounter a startup failure, please carefully review the specification manual. Pay special attention to the resolution settings in the launch file, as well as other parameters, to ensure compatibility and optimal performance.

Please refer to the OrbbecSDK supported products: Product Support

The default DDS settings (Galactic) may not be optimal for data transmission. Different DDS settings can have varying performance. In this example, we use CycloneDDS. For more detailed information, please refer to the ROS DDS Tuning。

● Edit cyclonedds configuration file

sudo gedit /etc/cyclonedds/config.xml

Add

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CycloneDDS xmlns="https://cdds.io/config" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
            xsi:schemaLocation="https://cdds.io/confighttps://raw.githubusercontent.com/eclipse-cyclonedds/cyclonedds/master/etc/cyclonedds.xsd">
    <Domain id="any">
        <General>
            <NetworkInterfaceAddress>lo</NetworkInterfaceAddress>
            <AllowMulticast>false</AllowMulticast>
        </General>
        <Internal>
            <MinimumSocketReceiveBufferSize>16MB</MinimumSocketReceiveBufferSize>
        </Internal>
        <Discovery>
            <ParticipantIndex>auto</ParticipantIndex>
            <MaxAutoParticipantIndex>30</MaxAutoParticipantIndex>
            <Peers>
                <Peer address="localhost"/>
            </Peers>
        </Discovery>
    </Domain>
</CycloneDDS>

● Set the environment variables, add to .zshrc or .bashrc

export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=42 # Numbers from 0 to 232
export ROS_LOCALHOST_ONLY=1
export CYCLONEDDS_URI=file:///etc/cyclonedds/config.xml

Tip：to understand why the maximum ROS_DOMAIN_ID is 232, please visit The ROS DOMAIN ID ● Increase UDP receive buffer size Edit

/etc/sysctl.d/10-cyclone-max.conf

Add

net.core.rmem_max=2147483647
net.core.rmem_default=2147483647

If you use Fast DDS, you can refer to the Fast DDS Configuration file.

If the camera node crashes unexpectedly, it will generate a crash log in the current running directory: Log/camera_crash_stack_trace_xx.log. Please send this log to the support team or submit it to a GitHub issue for further assistance.

Insufficient Power Supply:

• Ensure that each camera is connected to a separate hub.
• Use a powered hub to provide sufficient power to each camera.

High Resolution:

• Try lowering the resolution to resolve data stream issues.

Increase usbfs_memory_mb Value:

• Increase the usbfs_memory_mb value to 128MB (this is a reference value and can be adjusted based on your system’s needs) by running the following command:

    echo 128 | sudo tee /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/usbfs_memory_mb

• To make this change permanent, check this link.

• If you encounter other issues, set the log_level parameter to debug. This will generate an SDK log file in the running directory: Log/OrbbecSDK.log.txt. Please provide this file to the support team for further assistance.
• If firmware logs are required, set enable_heartbeat to true to activate this feature.

• Different cameras have varying default resolutions and image formats.
• To simplify usage, each camera has its own launch file.

• Orbbec SDK
• Gemini 330 depth presets

Copyright 2024 Orbbec Ltd.

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this project except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an " AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.

Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others