Quickstart

Two machines, each running your own ROS 2 drivers, joined by one bridge node each.

Before you start

ROS 2 on both machines, and your own drivers working locally
A VideoSDK token, and one room id both machines will join

Install

The bridge node ships in a pip package, and ROS needs a small package of its own to launch it by name.

# into the interpreter ROS 2 runs on, not whichever your shell points at
/usr/bin/python3 -m pip install --user --break-system-packages videosdk-teleop

mkdir -p ~/ros2_ws/src && cd ~/ros2_ws/src
git clone https://github.com/videosdk-live/videosdk-teleop-ros.git

cd ~/ros2_ws && colcon build --symlink-install && source install/setup.bash
ros2 pkg executables videosdk_teleop_ros     # expect teleop_bridge_node

If that last line prints nothing, build once more. The first build does not always write the environment hook that makes the package findable.

Configure

Copy the example config and change two things: the joint names your driver uses, and this machine’s own joint travel.

params.yaml

/**/videosdk_bridge:
  ros__parameters:
    joint_names: ["shoulder_pan", "shoulder_lift", "elbow_flex",
                  "wrist_flex", "wrist_roll", "gripper"]

    # this machine's own arm, in whatever units your topics carry
    joint_min: [-1.92, -1.75, -1.69, -1.66, -2.79, -0.17]
    joint_max: [ 1.92,  1.75,  1.69,  1.66,  2.79,  1.75]

    leader_states_topic: "/leader_node/joint_states"
    follower_commands_topic: "/follower_node/joint_commands"
    follower_states_topic: "/follower_node/joint_states"

Ask your own drivers what they publish and subscribe to, rather than guessing:

ros2 node info /leader_node
ros2 node info /follower_node

Set this	To whatever your driver
`leader_states_topic`	leader publishes
`follower_commands_topic`	follower subscribes to
`follower_states_topic`	follower publishes, or empty if it does not

joint_names must match on both machines, in the same order. joint_min and joint_max must not: each machine uses its own arm’s travel, and copying one to the other gives an arm that tracks but overshoots near the ends.

Run

Start your own drivers first, so the topics exist before the bridges look for them. Then, on both machines:

export VIDEOSDK_TOKEN=...
export VIDEOSDK_MEETING_ID=abcd-efgh-ijkl

# operator's machine
ros2 launch videosdk_teleop_ros bridge.launch.py \
    role:=leader_side robot_id:=my_leader params_file:=$PWD/params.yaml

# robot's machine
ros2 launch videosdk_teleop_ros bridge.launch.py \
    role:=follower_side robot_id:=my_follower params_file:=$PWD/params.yaml

Each logs the topics it resolved and warns after five seconds if one is silent. Read those lines first: a name that does not match your driver looks like a dead session rather than an error.

Take control

Nothing moves until you ask. From the operator’s machine:

ros2 service call /videosdk_bridge/enable std_srvs/srv/SetBool "{data: true}"

Move the leader. The follower follows.

# stop sending, the far arm holds where it is
ros2 service call /videosdk_bridge/enable std_srvs/srv/SetBool "{data: false}"

# stop now, and stay stopped
ros2 service call /videosdk_bridge/estop std_srvs/srv/Trigger

Releasing an emergency stop happens on the robot’s machine, deliberately:

ros2 service call /videosdk_bridge/clear_estop std_srvs/srv/Trigger

If it does not work

What you see	Why
`ros2 pkg executables` prints nothing	build the workspace a second time, then re-source `install/setup.bash`
`nothing publishes <topic> after 5s`	the name in `params.yaml` is not what your driver uses
`refusing to send: action covers []`	the leader bridge is reading a topic nobody publishes
Arming is refused	the two arms are further apart than `max_misalignment`, move them closer
Tracks but overshoots near the ends	`joint_min` and `joint_max` were copied from the other machine

Runnable example

A params file, an env script with a shortcut per command, and the full walkthrough.

Reference

Every parameter, topic and service, and what the bridge does about safety.

SO-101

Joint travel read from a LeRobot calibration instead of typed in.

Get started

Quickstarts

Concepts

Guides

Integrations

Before you start

Install

Configure

Run

Take control

If it does not work

Runnable example

Reference

SO-101

​Before you start

​Install

​Configure

​Run

​Take control

​If it does not work

Runnable example

​Related

Reference

SO-101

Before you start

Install

Configure

Run

Take control

If it does not work

Related