Connecting to data

Introduction

To begin visualizing data, navigate to the Lichtblick dashboard and and select a data source option.

Data Sources

Connect to a live data source or load local and imported files to visualize their data.

Live data
"open connection" - inspect real-time data from an active robotics stack or a remote source (e.g. S3 bucket)
Supported Formats
ROS 1, ROS 2, Custom, MCAP, Velodyne

Local data
"open local file" - examine data stored locally on your computer
Supported Formats
ROS 1, MCAP, PX4 ULog

Once connected, Lichtblick will display the data source's topics in the sidebar:

Live Data

Connect to live data sources using Lichtblick's WebSocket, Rosbridge, and Velodyne Lidar integrations. Additionally, you can load remote data files via URL.

Supported Formats

Lichtblick supports the following formats for live data connections:

Limitations

When connecting to a live robotics stack, each connection type offers different capabilities:

Local Data

Lichtblick enables you to load local data files for visualization.

Supported formats

Getting Started

To load local files for visualization, you can:

• Click "Open local file..." in the dashboard or left-hand menu.
• Open or drag-and-drop the file from your operating system's file manager (desktop only).