`isaac_ros_data_recorder`

Source code on GitHub.

Overview

The isaac_ros_data_recorder package enables recording data from the Nova sensor set. Data is recorded as an MCAP file with messages serialized in CDR format. Camera streams are encoded in H.264 to reduce storage footprint. For more information on recording data in ROS 2, refer to the documentation for rosbag2.

Quickstart

Set Up Development Environment

Set up your development environment by following the instructions in getting started.

Clone isaac_ros_common under ${ISAAC_ROS_WS}/src.

cd ${ISAAC_ROS_WS}/src && \
   git clone -b release-3.1 https://github.com/NVIDIA-ISAAC-ROS/isaac_ros_common.git isaac_ros_common

(Optional) Install dependencies for any sensors you want to use by following the sensor-specific guides.

Warning

We strongly recommend installing all sensor dependencies before starting any quickstarts. Some sensor dependencies require restarting the Isaac ROS Dev container during installation, which will interrupt the quickstart process.

Create additional mounts for the Docker container.

If the container is already running, stop it with:

docker rm -f isaac_ros_dev-aarch64-container

Create mounts for /etc/nova and /mnt/nova_ssd/recordings:

echo $'-v /etc/nova:/etc/nova\n-v /mnt/nova_ssd/recordings:/mnt/nova_ssd/recordings' > ${ISAAC_ROS_WS}/src/isaac_ros_common/scripts/.isaac_ros_dev-dockerargs

Build `isaac_ros_data_recorder`

Launch the Docker container using the run_dev.sh script:

cd ${ISAAC_ROS_WS}/src/isaac_ros_common && \
./scripts/run_dev.sh

Install the prebuilt Debian package:

sudo apt-get install -y ros-humble-isaac-ros-data-recorder

Clone this repository under ${ISAAC_ROS_WS}/src:

cd ${ISAAC_ROS_WS}/src && \
   git clone -b release-3.1 https://github.com/NVIDIA-ISAAC-ROS/isaac_ros_nova.git isaac_ros_nova

Launch the Docker container using the run_dev.sh script:

cd ${ISAAC_ROS_WS}/src/isaac_ros_common && \
./scripts/run_dev.sh

Use rosdep to install the package’s dependencies:

rosdep install --from-paths /workspaces/isaac_ros-dev/src/isaac_ros_nova --ignore-src -y

Build the package from source:

cd ${ISAAC_ROS_WS} && \
   colcon build --packages-up-to isaac_ros_data_recorder

Source the ROS workspace:

Note

Make sure to repeat this step in every terminal created inside the Docker container.

Since this package was built from source, the enclosing workspace must be sourced for ROS to be able to find the package’s contents.
```
source install/setup.bash
```

Run Launch File

Continuing inside the Docker container, start data recording:

ros2 run isaac_ros_data_recorder record_data.sh
Use Ctrl+C to stop recording. By default, recordings will be stored in /mnt/nova_ssd/recordings.

(Optional) Run teleop.

Follow Tutorial: Teleoperate the Robot with a Joystick to setup teleop. Then, launch the teleop app:
```
ros2 launch nova_carter_bringup teleop_include.launch.py
```

Try More Examples

A sensor configuration file can be used to record a subset of sensors on the robot. For example, to record only the 4 stereo cameras:

ros2 run isaac_ros_data_recorder record_data.sh -y hawk-4.yaml

The following sensor configurations are provided. Custom sensor configurations are also supported.

Configuration File	Description
`hawk-1.yaml`	Front stereo camera with IMU.
`hawk-2.yaml`	Front and back stereo cameras with IMU.
`hawk-3.yaml`	Front, left, and right stereo cameras with IMU.
`hawk-4.yaml`	Front, left, right and back stereo cameras with IMU.
`owl-1.yaml`	Front fisheye camera.
`owl-2.yaml`	Front and back fisheye cameras.
`owl-3.yaml`	Front, left, and right fisheye cameras.
`owl-4.yaml`	Front, left, right, and back fisheye cameras.
`hawk-1_owl-1.yaml`	Front stereo and fisheye cameras.
`hawk-1_owl-2.yaml`	Front stereo camera and left and right fisheye cameras.
`hawk-2_owl-2.yaml`	Front and back stereo and fisheye cameras.
`hawk-2_owl-4.yaml`	Front and back stereo cameras and front, left, right, and back fisheye cameras.
`hawk-4_owl-4.yaml`	Front, left, right and back stereo and fisheye cameras.
`nova-orin.yaml`	Sensor configuration for Nova Orin.
`nova-orin_hawk-4.yaml`	Sensor configuration for Nova Orin without fisheye cameras or 2D lidar.
`nova-carter.yaml`	Sensor configuration for Nova Carter.
`nova-carter_hawk-4.yaml`	Sensor configuration for Nova Carter without fisheye cameras or 2D lidar.
`nova-developer-kit.yaml`	Sensor configuration for Nova Orin Developer Kit.

Troubleshooting

Isaac ROS Troubleshooting

For solutions to problems with Isaac ROS, see troubleshooting.

API

Usage

ros2 launch isaac_ros_data_recorder data_recorder.launch.py

ROS Launch Arguments

ROS Launch Argument	Default Value	Description
`recording_dir`	`/mnt/nova_ssd/recordings`	The directory in which to put the recording.
`rosbag_name`	`rosbag2`	The name of the folder which the rosbag is stored in.
`config`	`/etc/nova/systeminfo.yaml`	Sensor configuration file.

ROS Topics Subscribed

ROS Topic	Interface	Description
`/rosout`	rcl_interfaces/msg/Log	Console logs.
`/tf`	tf2_msgs/msg/TFMessage	Movable transforms on the robot.
`/tf_static`	tf2_msgs/msg/TFMessage	Fixed transforms on the robot.
`/front_stereo_camera/left/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Front stereo camera left camera stream.
`/front_stereo_camera/left/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Front stereo camera left camera intrinsics.
`/front_stereo_camera/right/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Front stereo camera right camera stream.
`/front_stereo_camera/right/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Front stereo camera right camera intrinsics.
`/back_stereo_camera/left/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Back stereo camera left camera stream.
`/back_stereo_camera/left/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Back stereo camera left camera intrinsics.
`/back_stereo_camera/right/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Back stereo camera right camera stream.
`/back_stereo_camera/right/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Back stereo camera right camera intrinsics.
`/left_stereo_camera/left/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Left stereo camera left camera stream.
`/left_stereo_camera/left/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Left stereo camera left camera intrinsics.
`/left_stereo_camera/right/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Left stereo camera right camera stream.
`/left_stereo_camera/right/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Left stereo camera right camera intrinsics.
`/right_stereo_camera/left/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Right stereo camera left camera stream.
`/right_stereo_camera/left/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Right stereo camera left camera intrinsics.
`/right_stereo_camera/right/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Right stereo camera right camera stream.
`/right_stereo_camera/right/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Right stereo camera right camera intrinsics.
`/front_fisheye_camera/left/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Front fisheye camera stream.
`/front_fisheye_camera/left/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Front fisheye camera intrinsics.
`/back_fisheye_camera/left/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Back fisheye camera stream.
`/back_fisheye_camera/left/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Back fisheye camera intrinsics.
`/left_fisheye_camera/left/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Left fisheye camera stream.
`/left_fisheye_camera/left/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Left fisheye camera intrinsics.
`/right_fisheye_camera/left/image_compressed`	sensor_msgs/msg/CompressedImage	Right fisheye camera stream.
`/right_fisheye_camera/left/camera_info`	sensor_msgs/msg/CameraInfo	Right fisheye camera intrinsics.
`/front_2d_lidar/scan`	sensor_msgs/msg/LaserScan	Front 2D lidar scan.
`/back_2d_lidar/scan`	sensor_msgs/msg/LaserScan	Back 2D lidar scan.
`/front_3d_lidar/lidar_packets`	hesai_ros_driver/msg/UdpFrame	Front 3D lidar UDP packets.
`/front_stereo_imu/imu`	sensor_msgs/msg/Imu	Front stereo camera inertial measurement unit.
`/chassis/imu`	sensor_msgs/msg/Imu	Chassis inertial measurement unit.
`/chassis/ticks`	isaac_ros_nova_interfaces/msg/EncoderTicks	Chassis encoder count.
`/chassis/odom`	nav_msgs/msg/Odometry	Chassis odometry.
`/chassis/battery_state`	sensor_msgs/msg/BatteryState	Chassis battery state.

isaac_ros_data_recorder