Skip to content

Camera Sensors#

Configuration details for supported camera models.

Supported Models#

Model Type Resolution Frame Rate Features Config
ZED X Mini Stereo 1920×1200 15-60 FPS Depth, IMU, AI Detection camera_model:=zedxm
USB Camera Monocular Varies 30 FPS Basic imaging camera_model:=usb

ZED X Mini#

Prerequisites#

Hardware: NVIDIA Jetson with ZED Link Duo capture card (GMSL connection) Software: ZED SDK 5.1.2 (see Installation Guide)

Connection#

ZED X Mini → GMSL Cable → ZED Link Duo → PCIe → Jetson

Verify detection: 

lspci | grep NVIDIA        # Check ZED Link card
ZED_Explorer               # Test camera with GUI

Driver Package#

Location: src/sensor_component/external/zed-ros2-wrapper/ Package: zed_components (composable node architecture) Plugin: stereolabs::ZedCamera

Special: Namespace Workaround#

ZED Python launch file doesn't respect XML namespaces. Solution: Load composable node directly in XML.

Correct configuration: 

<!-- Container with ABSOLUTE namespace -->
<node_container
  pkg="rclcpp_components"
  exec="component_container_isolated"
  name="zed_container"
  namespace="/sensing/camera/zedxm">  <!-- Starts with / -->
</node_container>

<!-- Load composable node -->
<load_composable_node target="/sensing/camera/zedxm/zed_container">
  <composable_node pkg="zed_components" plugin="stereolabs::ZedCamera" ...>
</load_composable_node>

This creates topics at /sensing/camera/zedxm/* correctly.

Built-in IMU#

ZED has integrated 6-axis IMU (400 Hz, factory-calibrated).

Enable in ZED config: 

sensors.sensors_image_sync: true
sensors.publish_imu_tf: true

IMU relay pattern: 

ZED Driver → /sensing/camera/zedxm/imu/data
               ↓ (relay node)
          /sensing/imu/zed/imu_raw → Autoware EKF

Relay configuration: 

<node pkg="topic_tools" exec="relay" name="zed_imu_relay">
  <remap from="/sensing/camera/zedxm/imu/data" to="/sensing/imu/zed/imu_raw"/>
</node>

Object Detection#

ZED SDK includes AI-based object detection (persons, vehicles, animals).

Enable: 

<param name="object_detection.od_enabled" value="true"/>
<param name="object_detection.model" value="MULTI_CLASS_BOX_MEDIUM"/>
<param name="object_detection.confidence_threshold" value="50.0"/>

Output: /sensing/camera/zedxm/obj_det/objects (ZED format)

Disable for performance: 

make launch ARGS="enable_zed_object_detection:=false"

Configuration Options#

Depth Mode: 

depth.depth_mode:
  NEURAL        # Best quality (GPU-intensive)
  ULTRA         # High quality
  QUALITY       # Standard
  PERFORMANCE   # Fast

Frame Rate: 

general.grab_frame_rate: 15  # or 30, 60

Resolution: 

general.grab_resolution:
  HD2K    # 2208×1242 (highest)
  HD1080  # 1920×1080
  HD720   # 1280×720
  VGA     # 672×376 (lowest latency)

Test Standalone#

# ZED SDK test
ZED_Explorer

# ROS 2 wrapper test
ros2 launch zed_wrapper zed_camera.launch.py camera_model:=zedxm

# Verify topics
ros2 topic list | grep zedxm
ros2 topic hz /zedxm/zed_node/rgb/image_rect_color  # ~15-30 Hz

Troubleshooting#

Camera not detected: - Check lspci | grep NVIDIA shows ZED Link - Check /usr/local/zed/settings/version.txt shows 5.1.2 - Power cycle camera and Jetson

Wrong namespace: - Use composable node loading (not Python launch file) - Use ABSOLUTE namespace /sensing/camera/zedxm

VNC issues: - Use TurboVNC + VirtualGL for hardware acceleration - Standard VNC doesn't support GPU

USB Cameras#

Hardware#

  • Standard USB webcams (UVC-compatible)
  • Connected via USB to Jetson
  • Detected as /dev/video*

Driver#

Package: v4l2_camera Installation: sudo apt install ros-humble-v4l2-camera

Configuration#

<node pkg="v4l2_camera" exec="v4l2_camera_node" name="usb_camera">
  <param name="video_device" value="/dev/video0"/>
  <param name="image_size" value="[640, 480]"/>
  <param name="pixel_format" value="YUYV"/>
  <param name="camera_frame_id" value="usb_camera_link"/>
</node>

Test Standalone#

# List available cameras
v4l2-ctl --list-devices

# Test camera
ros2 run v4l2_camera v4l2_camera_node --ros-args -p video_device:=/dev/video0

Quick Reference#

# ZED SDK tools
ZED_Explorer                                      # Live view
ZED_Calibration                                   # Calibration tool
cat /usr/local/zed/settings/version.txt           # Check SDK version

# Topic verification
ros2 topic list | grep /sensing/camera
ros2 topic hz /sensing/camera/zedxm/rgb/image_rect_color
ros2 topic echo /sensing/camera/zedxm/imu/data --once

# USB camera
v4l2-ctl --list-devices
ros2 topic echo /image_raw --once