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robotics-viz-tools-slides

5 min read

Robotics Data Visualization Tools

A Comparative Survey · 2026

RViz · Foxglove Studio · Rerun.io · LeRobot Visualizer

Why Visualization Matters

  • Debug robot behavior — real-time sensor data, TF trees, navigation overlays
  • Replay recordings to understand failures without re-running hardware
  • Curate demonstration datasets for imitation learning and VLA training
  • Collaborate across research teams with shareable recordings and annotations

The right tool dramatically reduces iteration time in robot development

RViz

ROS ecosystem’s native 3D visualizer

  • License: Apache 2.0 · Community: ~870 GitHub stars, 15+ year ecosystem
  • Data: ROS topics — camera, LiDAR, point cloud, joint states, TF, occupancy grid
  • Interface: Desktop-only, customizable panel layout
  • Extensibility: C++ plugin system — derive Display, Panel, Tool; register via pluginlib; large 3rd-party plugin library (MoveIt, nav2, PCL)
  • Limitation: Real-time only, no offline playback, ROS-only

Best for: ROS/ROS2 robot development and live debugging

Foxglove Studio

Professional robotics observability platform

  • License: Commercial SaaS · SDK is MIT · Adoption: Industry-standard for fleet workflows
  • Data: MCAP, ROS 1/2 bag, Protobuf, JSON, FlatBuffers — most format-flexible
  • Interface: Web + desktop, 20+ built-in panels (3D, image, plot, logs, state transitions)
  • Extensibility: TypeScript extension SDK — custom panels, message scripts, custom decoders; public marketplace + private org deployment (Pro/Enterprise)
  • Performance: 3× faster plots, 11× faster state transitions (2025)

Best for: Multi-format data review, team collaboration, fleet observability

Rerun.io

Open-source multimodal data SDK and viewer

  • License: Apache 2.0 · Community: ~10,000+ GitHub stars — fastest-growing
  • APIs: Python, Rust, C++ — log directly from your code; gRPC or .rrd file output
  • Data types: 2D/3D, images, video, bounding boxes, tensors, text, time series, graphs
  • Deployment: Native app, browser (WASM), Jupyter notebook
  • Extensibility: Custom visualizers (Rust, plug into existing views); Blueprints API (Python) for programmatic layout; ECS data model for custom components
  • No ROS required — framework-agnostic

Best for: Embodied AI / VLA research, Python-first ML workflows

LeRobot Dataset Visualizer

Web tool for LeRobot demonstration dataset curation

  • License: Apache 2.0 · Hosted: HuggingFace Space
  • Scope: LeRobot format only (Parquet + video episodes)
  • Features: Episode navigation, synchronized video + sensor/action graphs
  • 3D Viewer: URDF-based joint pose viewer (SO-100, SO-101, OpenArm) + end-effector trails
  • Data quality: Flags bad episodes (low movement, jerk, outlier length); exports CLI filter command
  • Extensibility: Fork + self-host (React/Next.js); no plugin API; limited URDF library

Best for: LeRobot dataset QA before imitation learning training

Comparison

ROS Dependency

  • RViz: Required · Foxglove: Optional · Rerun: Not required (MCAP/ROS2 supported) · LeRobot VIZ: None

Live / Offline

  • RViz: Live only · Foxglove: Both · Rerun: Both · LeRobot VIZ: Offline only

API / SDK

  • RViz: ROS topics (C++/Python) · Foxglove: TypeScript ext + C++/Python/Rust SDK
  • Rerun: Python/Rust/C++ · LeRobot VIZ: Web UI only

Extensibility

  • RViz: Mature C++ plugin system · Foxglove: TS marketplace + org deploy
  • Rerun: Rust visualizers + Python Blueprints · LeRobot VIZ: Fork only

Open Source / Cost

  • RViz: Free · Foxglove: Freemium · Rerun: Free · LeRobot VIZ: Free

When to Use Which

  • ROS robot live debugging → RViz — native, zero-overhead, 15yr plugin ecosystem

  • Multi-format data + team sharing → Foxglove — MCAP/ROS/Protobuf, 20+ panels, cloud

  • Embodied AI / ML research (Python/Jupyter) → Rerun — log from any code, no ROS, browser-ready

  • LeRobot imitation learning prep → LeRobot VIZ — episode QA, filter bad demos, HuggingFace-native

  • Mixed AI + ROS pipeline → Rerun + Foxglove — log with Rerun SDK, review MCAP in Foxglove

Summary

RVizFoxgloveRerunLeRobot VIZ
ROSRequiredOptionalNot required*None
Live data✓✓✓✗
Offline✗✓✓✓
ExtensionsC++ pluginsTS marketplaceRust + PythonFork only
CostFreeFreemiumFreeFree

* Rerun does not require a ROS runtime, but supports ROS2 MCAP (reflection-based, since v0.26)

For modern robotics + AI stacks: Rerun for research logging, Foxglove for review and fleet ops, RViz for ROS-native work, LeRobot VIZ for dataset curation.

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