ROS 2 RealSense Docker

Minimal Docker setup to run an Intel RealSense camera with ROS 2 Humble, publish RGB-D + pointcloud topics, and use CycloneDDS for networked ROS communication.

What this repo provides

• A ROS 2 Humble image with RealSense ROS packages preinstalled (.ci/Dockerfile)
• A docker compose service configured for USB camera access and host networking (docker-compose.yaml)
• A launch script that starts realsense2_camera_node and publishes a static TF (scripts/launch_realsense.sh)
• A CycloneDDS profile with selectable network interfaces (configs/cyclonedds.xml)
• Convenience make targets for build/run/debug lifecycle (Makefile)

Prerequisites

• Docker Engine + Docker Compose plugin
• Linux host with RealSense camera connected over USB
• Access to /dev/bus/usb on host (provided via privileged + bind mount in compose)

Optional but recommended:

• make

Quick start

1. Build image:

make build

2. Start container:

make up

3. View logs:

make logs

4. Open shell in running container:

make shell

5. Stop container:

make down

Runtime behavior

When the service starts, it runs:

source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash
./launch_realsense.sh

The launch script:

• Starts realsense2_camera_node in namespace /rgbd
• Uses camera node name realsense_default by default
• Enables color, depth, aligned depth, and pointcloud output
• Publishes a static transform from head_front_camera_link to <camera_name>_link

You can override camera name by running inside the container:

./launch_realsense.sh my_camera

DDS / networking

CycloneDDS is configured through:

• CYCLONEDDS_URI=/etc/cyclonedds/cyclonedds.xml

The mounted file is configs/cyclonedds.xml, where you can adjust:

• Network interfaces (<NetworkInterface ... />)
• Multicast behavior
• Message sizing / discovery settings

The compose service uses network_mode: host, and ROS domain is set with:

• ROS_DOMAIN_ID=2
• RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_cyclonedds_cpp

Makefile commands

• make build - build Docker image
• make up - start service in background
• make down - stop and remove container
• make logs - follow container logs
• make shell - enter running container (bash)
• make clean - stop container and remove built images

Project structure

.
├── .ci/Dockerfile
├── configs/cyclonedds.xml
├── docker-compose.yaml
├── Makefile
└── scripts/launch_realsense.sh

Troubleshooting

• Camera not detected:

  • Check host USB visibility: lsusb
  • Confirm camera is present under /dev/bus/usb
  • Restart service after reconnecting camera: make down && make up

• No ROS discovery across machines:

  • Verify both sides use same ROS_DOMAIN_ID
  • Verify network interface names in configs/cyclonedds.xml
  • Confirm multicast is allowed on your network

• Node starts but no expected TF alignment:

  • Check TARGET_FRAME in scripts/launch_realsense.sh
  • Ensure the target frame exists in your robot TF tree

Notes

• This setup assumes ROS 2 Humble.
• The container runs with elevated privileges to access USB devices.