# realsenseai/realsense-ros

**Attribution required: if you use, quote, or summarise this content, you must credit and link back to [awesome-repositories.com](https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/realsenseai-realsense-ros).**

3,365 stars · 1,987 forks · Python · Apache-2.0

## Links

- GitHub: https://github.com/realsenseai/realsense-ros
- Homepage: http://wiki.ros.org/RealSense
- awesome-repositories: https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/realsenseai-realsense-ros.md

## Description

This project is a ROS2 depth camera driver that streams synchronized RGB, depth, infrared, and IMU data from Intel RealSense sensors as ROS2 topics. It functions as a managed camera interface using lifecycle nodes with explicit state transitions to ensure deterministic startup and shutdown within robotic systems.

The driver includes an RGBD perception pipeline that aligns depth to color and generates 3D point clouds for spatial analysis. It features a depth camera calibration tool that provides ROS2 services for reading and writing on-device calibration and safety configuration parameters.

The system covers broad capability areas including sensor data streaming, image processing through post-processing filters, and coordinate frame broadcasting for spatial reasoning. It also provides hardware health monitoring for temperature and stream frequency, as well as zero-copy communication to reduce latency between intra-process nodes.

A dedicated RViz2 visualization plugin is provided for the inspection and debugging of RGBD messages.

## Tags

### Hardware & IoT

- [Depth Camera SDKs](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/depth-camera-sdks.md) — Provides a full ROS2 driver and SDK for managing depth camera lifecycles, hardware resets, and health monitoring.
- [ROS2 Hardware Integrations](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/ros2-hardware-integrations.md) — Integrates Intel RealSense depth cameras into the ROS2 ecosystem to stream synchronized RGBD and IMU data.
- [Real-time Sensor Streaming](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/integration-performance/hardware-interfacing-integration/hardware-integration/device-sensors/real-time-sensor-streaming.md) — Continuously streams depth, color, infrared, and IMU data from camera sensors for real-time processing. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))
- [Coordinate Frame Broadcasting](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/coordinate-frame-broadcasting.md) — Broadcasts static transforms between sensor optical frames and camera base frames for spatial reasoning.
- [Hardware Reset Controllers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/design-lifecycle-management/hardware-engineering-management/hardware-management/hardware-reset-controllers.md) — Triggers a hardware-level reset via a service call to recover the device from firmware issues. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))
- [3D Spatial Reasoning](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/embedded-robotics/robotics-autonomous-systems/visual-scene-interpreters/3d-spatial-reasoning.md) — Provides capabilities for interpreting 3D visual information by broadcasting coordinate transforms between sensor frames and robot bases.
- [Hardware Control Services](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/hardware-control-services.md) — Exposes camera reset, calibration, and configuration operations through ROS2 services for external orchestration.
- [Hardware Orchestration Services](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/hardware-orchestration-services.md) — Exposes low-level device resets and calibration routines via ROS2 services for external control.
- [Sensor Configuration](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/integration-performance/hardware-interfacing-integration/hardware-integration/device-sensors/sensor-configuration.md) — Sets resolution, frame rate, and data formats for individual sensors at launch or during runtime. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))
- [On-Device Calibration Triggers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/on-device-calibration-triggers.md) — Initiates a calibration action on supported devices to recalibrate internal sensors for better accuracy. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))

### Part of an Awesome List

- [Sensor Drivers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/data/sensor-drivers.md) — Acts as a driver that streams synchronized RGB, depth, infrared, and IMU data from sensors as ROS2 topics.
- [Sensor Data Streaming](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/devtools/hardware-simulation/sensor-data-simulation/sensor-data-streaming.md) — Streams accelerometer and gyroscope samples from the IMU as ROS2 topics for motion tracking. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))
- [Camera Calibration](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/ai/pose-estimation/camera-calibration.md) — Reads and writes calibration parameters via service calls to perform precise on-device sensor adjustments. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))

### Graphics & Multimedia

- [Point Cloud Generators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/3d-point-cloud-spatial-mappers/point-cloud-generators.md) — Transforms raw depth data into 3D point clouds with optional color or infrared textures. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))
- [Coordinate Frame Broadcasting](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/coordinate-frame-broadcasting.md) — Publishes fixed spatial relationships between sensor optical frames and the camera base for coordinate reasoning.
- [Depth-Color Alignment](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/depth-color-alignment.md) — Synchronizes depth maps with RGB images to ensure each depth pixel corresponds to the correct color pixel. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))
- [RGB and Depth Synchronization](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/rgb-and-depth-synchronization.md) — Combines aligned depth maps and color frames into a single data structure for efficient perception processing.
- [RGBD Message Packaging](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/rgb-and-depth-synchronization/rgbd-message-packaging.md) — Combines synchronized RGB and depth data into single messages for efficient robotic perception processing. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))
- [Depth Image Filters](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/depth-image-filters.md) — Applies spatial, temporal, and hole-filling filters to improve the quality and consistency of depth data. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))
- [Post-Processing Pipelines](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/graphics-engines-rendering/post-processing-pipelines.md) — Applies spatial, temporal, hole-filling, and decimation filters to depth images to improve quality.
- [RGBD Visualization Plugins](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/rgbd-visualization-plugins.md) — Provides a dedicated RViz2 plugin for the inspection and debugging of RGBD messages.

### Security & Cryptography

- [ROS2 Lifecycle Nodes](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/account-lifecycle-management/lifecycle-state-machines/node-runtime-state-machines/ros2-lifecycle-nodes.md) — Implements managed camera interfaces using lifecycle nodes with explicit state transitions to ensure deterministic system startup.
- [Node Runtime State Machines](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/account-lifecycle-management/lifecycle-state-machines/node-runtime-state-machines.md) — Uses a managed interface with explicit state transitions to ensure deterministic startup and shutdown of the camera node.

### Software Engineering & Architecture

- [Perception Pipelines](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/modular-design-patterns/pipeline-component-modularization/perception-pipelines.md) — Implements a modular sequence of data processing stages to transform depth data into point clouds for spatial analysis.
- [Distributed Node Lifecycles](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/node-lifecycle-management/distributed-node-lifecycles.md) — Controls camera node state transitions through explicit lifecycle stages for deterministic startup and shutdown.
- [Runtime Parameter Configurators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/default-configuration-values/execution-parameter-configurations/application-parameter-configurators/runtime-parameter-configurators.md) — Adjusts resolution, frame rate, and depth stream parameters using configurable parameters during startup. ([source](http://wiki.ros.org/Installation/Ubuntu/Sources))
- [Sensor Stream Parameters](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/default-configuration-values/execution-parameter-configurations/application-parameter-configurators/runtime-parameter-configurators/sensor-stream-parameters.md) — Determines sensor resolution and frame rates at launch time using a centralized parameter system.

### Data & Databases

- [Zero-Copy](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/data-databases/serialization-frameworks/zero-copy.md) — Passes large image and pointcloud buffers between intra-process nodes without copying to reduce latency.
- [Spatial Vector Calculators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/data-databases/vector-search/vector-magnitude-calculators/vector-magnitude-calculators/spatial-geometry-calculators/spatial-vector-calculators.md) — Calculates static and dynamic spatial relationships between sensor frames and the robot base for object positioning. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))

### DevOps & Infrastructure

- [Sensor Data Publishing](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/infrastructure/cluster-service-orchestration/service-discovery/server-metadata-registries/server-metadata-publishers/sensor-data-publishing.md) — Publishes synchronized color and depth images as a single combined RGBD message for efficient consumption. ([source](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/realsenseai/realsense-ros@ros2-master/README.md))