For robotics teachers: ROS2 Camera Image Subscriber in C++ | Open Class #8

In a real warehouse environment, a robot needs more than distance sensors — it needs eyes. A camera mounted on a robot produces a continuous stream of images that operators and autonomous systems can use to understand the surroundings visually. 

In this open class, we will show you how to create a robotics project that subscribes to the onboard camera topic of a real robot (FastBot from the BotBox kit), converts raw image messages into displayable frames, and renders the live video feed both in an OpenCV window and inside RViz2—giving your robot its first sense of vision.

You will learn:

✅ Subscribing to a camera image topic and processing raw image messages in C++
✅ Converting ROS image messages into OpenCV-compatible frames using a bridge library
✅ Displaying and refreshing a live video feed in a GUI window
✅ Visualising the camera stream inside RViz2 using the built-in Image display plugin

📁 *ROS project link: https://app.theconstruct.ai/l/71de7378/
🤖️ *Robot Used: BotBot: https://www.theconstruct.ai/botbox-warehouse-lab/

Related courses:
* C++ for Robotics (Free): https://app.theconstruct.ai/courses/c-for-robotics-59/
* ROS2 Basics in 5 Days (C++): https://app.theconstruct.ai/courses/ros2-basics-in-5-days-c-325/
* Advanced Modern C++ for Robotics: https://app.theconstruct.ai/courses/advanced-modern-c-for-robotics-94/


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[For Robotics Teachers Open Class], a weekly series of videos by The Construct Robotics Institute, aims to make robotics education easier by helping teachers teach a wide range of robotics topics through hands-on practice.

Each session provides a ROS-based project (referred to as ROSJECTs 🦾 📁) for all attendees, including notebooks, code, and robot simulations. Led by ROS expert Desire, you'll see how robotics teaching and hands-on practice come together in real time.

*Missed a session? Find recordings & ROSJECTs on https://app.theconstruct.ai/open-classes/*

We're excited to share this series with you! If you have questions or want to explore new topics, drop us a comment below.

Cheers.

*The Construct Robotics Institute | Where Your Robotics Career Happens*

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👨‍🏫 Class Creator: Desire (ROS Tutor @The Construct Robotics Institute )
👩‍💻 Class cover designer: Sonia/Ruojun Wang (Marketing Assistant @The Construct Robotics Institute )

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#ai #Robotics #ros #robot #ros2