Overview

In robotics and system development, having a clear and flexible interface to visualize system states, sensor data, and real-time metrics is important. This project offers a lightweight dashboard framework designed for ROS 2, allowing quick creation of dashboards through simple configuration files.

Video 1 - Demo video of the dashboard overlaid on video.

The Video 1: Demo video of the dashboard overlaid on video. shows a demo of the dashboard running over a video stream.

Motivation

Tools like RViz2 or rqt provide some visualization but often lack flexibility for custom layouts, post-processing, or presentation-ready dashboards. This framework aims to:

  • Quickly prototype custom UI dashboards for ROS 2 nodes
  • Support both live systems and offline analysis with rosbag files
  • Enable video export for presentations or analysis

Approach

The dashboard layout is defined using a YAML configuration file, inspired by tools like Qt Designer but tailored for ROS 2 environments.

This YAML system allows users to:

  • Define widgets and their properties
  • Specify the ROS 2 topics to subscribe to
  • Customize appearance and data bindings
  • Choose rendering on a solid color or video stream background

This method removes repetitive UI coding while offering high customization.

Fig. 1 - Example of a basic implementation

The Fig. 1 shows an example how to create a component compatible with your topic. Steps:

  1. First, need to create a class heriting from a basic abstract component;
  2. Second, define the callback function allowing to update the value to show;
  3. Finally, edit the config file and call the new class in the component type.

Widget Support

The supported widgets include:

  • Slider: adjustable control linked to a ROS topic or parameter
  • Label: dynamic text or numeric display
  • Map: static image or live video background with data overlays
  • Circle: simple shape for markers or indicators
  • Plot: real-time graphing of numeric data

Widgets are composable and layouts are defined via configuration without hardcoded UI logic.

Usage Modes

The dashboard operates mainly in two modes:

Online Mode

Connected to a live ROS 2 system:

  • Visualize sensor data and system status in real-time
  • Interact with running nodes (e.g., adjust sliders)

Offline Mode

Replay dashboards from recorded rosbag files:

  • Useful for post-analysis, testing, and debugging
  • Rebuild system behavior over time in a clean UI
  • Export images or videos

Video Export

The framework supports exporting visualizations as video, with or without transparency, enabling easy integration into presentations or post-production workflows.

Examples

Here are some dashboard examples showcasing different configurations and visual styles:

Dashboard example with Rviz image.
Fig. 2.1 - Dashboard example with Rviz image.
Dashboard example with camera image.
Fig. 2.2 - Dashboard example with camera image.

The Fig. 2 illustrates different dashboard configurations, one using an Rviz image and the other a camera image background.