Resource and Data Automation (RDA) for ROS 2

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What is RDA?

Resource and Data Automation for ROS 2 (RDA) streamlines the entire ROS data lifecycle—from capture to insight—without writing a single line of code and centrally managed from the Heex Smart-Data SaaS platform.

• It imports ROS topics from ROS bags with a single CLI command to automatically generate Data Sources in Heex
• You can then create Triggers with Monitors, Conditions, and Recorders
• Have them deployed automatically to your target systems’ Heex agents
• And start your scenario-based data capture in minutes

See it in action:

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Pre-requisites

• ROS2 Installation: Heex supports the following distributions:

  • Galactic (Ubuntu 20.04)
  • Humble (Ubuntu 22.04)
  • Jazzy (Ubuntu 24.04)

• Custom Packages: If your environment uses custom ROS packages, Heex needs access to them:

  • Agent Mode: Add custom build paths to FILES_TO_SOURCE_IN_SERVICES_ENV in the Agent Configuration
  • SDK Mode: Source all custom builds in the terminal before launching heexOrchestrator

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Deployment Options

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Agent Deployment Mode

When running in Agent deployment mode:

1. RDA runs automatically with standard ROS2 installations (in /opt/ros/ros2-distribution)
2. For custom installations or multiple distributions, follow the ROS configuration guide before packaging the agent

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SDK Mode

When running in SDK mode:

1. Generate the implementations.json file as described in the SDK mode documentation
2. RDA implementations will run automatically once properly configured

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How RDA Works

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RDA Monitor

The RDA Monitor creates a ROS2 node called rda_monitor that:

1. Subscribes to all signals defined in your Heex Cloud configuration
2. Continuously evaluates these signals against your predefined conditions
3. Generates Events when conditions are met, triggering data capture workflows

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RDA Recorder

The RDARecorder creates a ROS2 node called rda_recorder that:

1. Subscribes to all signals configured for recording in the Heex platform
2. Maintains a rolling buffer of each signal’s data based on your specified time ranges
3. Automatically clears data outside of the defined buffer ranges to optimize resource usage
4. Creates MCAP recordings when triggered by Events from the RDAMonitor
5. Processes and transmits recordings to Heex Cloud for immediate analysis

Need help getting started? Check out our Quick Start Guide or contact our support team at support@heex.io.