Rerun

Supported Message Formats

Rerun provides automatic visualization for common message types in MCAP files through different processing layers.

ROS2 message types ros2-message-types

The ros2msg layer provides automatic conversion of common ROS2 messages to Rerun archetypes that can be visualized, e.g.:

  • sensor_msgs
  • std_msgs
  • geometry_msgs
  • builtin_interfaces
  • tf2_msgs

We are continually adding support for more standard ROS2 message types. For the complete list of currently supported messages, see the ROS2 message parsers in our codebase.

Timelines timelines

In addition to the message_log_time and message_publish_time timestamps that are part of an MCAP message, some ROS message payloads can have an additional Header that may also contain timestamp information. These timestamps are put onto specific ros2_* timelines.

Timestamps within Unix time range (1990-2100) create a ros2_timestamp timeline. Values outside this range create a ros2_duration timeline representing relative time from custom epochs.

ROS 2 transforms (TF) ros-2-transforms-tf

tf2_msgs/TFMessage is converted to Transform3D, with parent_frame and child_frame set according to the frame_id and child_frame_id of each geometry_msgs/TransformStamped contained in the message's transforms list. The timestamps of the individual transforms are put onto the ros2_* timelines, allowing the viewer to resolve the spatial relationships between frames over time similar to a TF buffer in ROS.

You can read more about how Rerun handles transforms and "TF-style" frame names here.

To see the transforms in the viewer, you can select the entity corresponding to the topic and add a visualizer for TransformAxes3D as shown in the video here. If you have transforms that correspond to joints in a robot model, you can also read more about how to load URDF models into a recording here.

ROS 2 poses and frame IDs ros-2-poses-and-frame-ids

geometry_msgs/PoseStamped is converted to InstancePoses3D with a CoordinateFrame on the same entity path. Just like Transform3D, you can visualize these poses in the viewer by selecting the entity and adding a TransformAxes3D visualizer in the selection panel. Note that the visualization requires the parent coordinate frame of the pose to be known, i.e. part of the transform hierarchy of your data.

CoordinateFrames are also used for other message types that are supported by the ros2msg layer, if they have an std_msgs/Header with a frame_id. For data that can be visualized in 3D views (e.g. point clouds), this means that the viewer takes the respective coordinate frame's transform into account and renders the data relative to it.

ROS2 reflection ros2-reflection

The ros2_reflection layer automatically decodes ROS2 messages using runtime reflection for message types that are not supported by the semantic ros2msg layer. Fields become queryable components in the dataframe view and selection panel, but no automatic visualizations are created.

ROS1 message types ros1-message-types

ROS1 messages are not currently supported for semantic interpretation through any layer. The raw and schema layers are able to preserve the original bytes and structure of the messages.

Protobuf messages protobuf-messages

The protobuf layer automatically decodes protobuf-encoded messages using schema reflection. Fields become queryable components, but no automatic visualizations are created.

Adding support for new types adding-support-for-new-types

To request support for additional message types:

  • File a GitHub issue requesting the specific message type
  • Join the Rerun community on Discord to discuss and provide feedback on message support priorities. Or if you're open for a conversation, sign up here
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