Robotics

Robotics Stack

From design to deployment. Spatial provides the 3D design and simulation layer. Viam RDK provides the runtime to control and operate actual robots.

Embedded Linux Runtime

Robotics runs on Linux. Our decades of Linux and embedded systems experience means we build for the real world—factory floors, outdoor environments, and resource-constrained edge devices.

Viam RDK Runtime

Why we chose Viam RDK:

• Open source — Aligns with our open standards philosophy
• Go-native — Matches our technology stack
• Modular — Components can be swapped and extended
• Cloud-optional — Works offline-first, like our products
• Hardware-agnostic — Not locked to specific robot manufacturers
• Runs on embedded Linux — Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, industrial controllers

Viam RDK is an open-source robotics development kit with language-agnostic SDKs (Go, Python, TypeScript) and a modular component architecture.

Viam RDK Documentation →

Embedded Platforms

Same Go codebase. Same Viam RDK. Deploys from development workstation to embedded edge device.

Capabilities

Vision & Perception

Camera Abstraction

Viam provides a unified rdk:component:camera API that works across diverse camera types—webcams, IP cameras, LiDAR, and depth cameras like the Intel RealSense D435i.

How it works:

• Standardized API — Your code talks to the Viam camera interface, not the hardware
• Built-in drivers — The viam-camera-realsense module handles RealSense integration
• Hardware agnostic — Swap cameras without changing application logic
• Configuration-driven — Resolution, sensors, and streams configured via JSON, not code

Available methods: GetImage(), GetImages(), GetPointCloud(), plus intrinsic camera parameters.

Intel RealSense D435i

RGB-D depth sensing for point cloud generation and spatial perception.

librealsense on GitHub →

ML Pipeline

• YOLOv8 object detection and segmentation
• Integration with Viam vision service
• Real-time inference on edge devices

Hardware Abstraction

The key value proposition: config change, not code change.

• Same software, bigger arm — Swap xArm config for UR5e or KUKA, redeploy
• xArm as teaching pendant — Demonstrate motions on xArm, larger arm mimics
• Multi-robot coordination — xArm handles small parts, KUKA handles heavy lifting
• Digital twin development — Develop against xArm, simulate against KUKA kinematics

Supported Arms

viam-kuka module →

Architecture

SOFTWARE STACK
┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐
│ Vision   │  │ Motion   │  │   ML     │  │ Business │
│ Pipeline │  │ Planning │  │ Models   │  │  Logic   │
└────┬─────┘  └────┬─────┘  └────┬─────┘  └────┬─────┘
     └─────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────┘
                         │
                  Viam Arm API
              (rdk:component:arm)
                         │
         ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐
         ▼               ▼               ▼
    ┌──────────┐   ┌──────────┐   ┌──────────┐
    │  xArm 6  │   │  UR5e    │   │  KUKA    │
    │  (dev)   │   │  (prod)  │   │  (heavy) │
    │ 5kg/700mm│   │ 5kg/850mm│   │ 30kg+    │
    └──────────┘   └──────────┘   └──────────┘

Industrial Integration

I/O Integration:

Modbus → PLC for industrial automation integration. Control conveyors, sensors, actuators, and safety systems from the same runtime.

How It Fits Together

Learn More

• Technology Overview →
• Spatial Platform →
• Contact Us →