Data Sources

Define how robot data is captured and transformed into queryable attributes

Data source definitions specify how data from robots is captured, processed, and stored as attributes. These attributes power status monitoring, incident detection, dashboard visualizations, and KPI calculations throughout InOrbit.

When to Use

• Custom telemetry: Capture application-specific data beyond standard ROS topics
• Computed values: Derive new metrics from existing data using expressions
• System monitoring: Track CPU, memory, disk, and network usage
• External data: Ingest data from files or custom key-value messages

Spec Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
label	string	No	Display label for the data source.
unit	string	No	Unit of measurement (e.g., "m/s", "%").
scale	number	No	Multiplier applied before storing. Useful for normalizing percentages (0-100 → 0-1).
precision	number	No	Decimal places for numeric values.
type	string	No	Force interpretation as "array" or "json". Auto-detected if not set.
timeline	object	No	Time-series storage configuration.
source	object	Yes	Data capture method. Only one source type per definition.

Timeline Configuration

Field	Type	Description
disabled	boolean	If true, data is not stored in time-series database.
fieldType	string	Data type: "number", "string", etc. Required for non-numeric data.

Source Types

keyValue

Receives data from key-value pair messages. The most common method uses ROS messages on /inorbit/custom_data/0 in the format "key=value".

source:
  keyValue:
    key: "battery_level"
    topic: "/inorbit/custom_data/0"  # optional, this is the default

derived

Computes values from other data sources using expressions.

source:
  derived:
    transform: "getValue('temperature') * 1.8 + 32"
    filter: "getValue('temperature') != null"
    language: "safe"  # "safe" (default) or "full"

Field	Description
transform	Expression that computes the value.
filter	Expression that must be true for the value to update.
language	"safe" limits to safe operations; "full" allows all JavaScript.

rosDiagnostics

Captures data from ROS /diagnostics messages.

source:
  rosDiagnostics:
    namespace: "/motors/left_wheel"
    key: "Temperature"

networkUsage

Monitors network interface bandwidth.

source:
  networkUsage:
    interface: "eth0"

diskUsage

Monitors disk partition usage (returns 0-1 fraction).

source:
  diskUsage:
    partition: "/dev/sda1"

textFile

Reads and monitors a text file for changes.

source:
  textFile:
    path: "/var/log/robot.log"

imageFile

Reads and monitors an image file for changes.

source:
  imageFile:
    path: "/tmp/snapshot.jpg"

network

Advanced network interface metrics.

source:
  network:
    interface: "wlan0"
    mappingKey: "rx_bytes"
    optionKey: "rate"

Examples

ROS Diagnostics Data Source

kind: DataSourceDefinition
apiVersion: v0.1
metadata:
  scope: account/<accountId>
  id: "dockingStatus"
spec:
  label: "Docking Status"
  source:
    rosDiagnostics:
      namespace: "/Navigation/Docking"
      key: "Docking Status"

Key-Value with Custom Topic

kind: DataSourceDefinition
apiVersion: v0.1
metadata:
  scope: account/<accountId>
  id: "missionProgress"
spec:
  label: "Mission Progress"
  unit: "%"
  scale: 0.01  # Convert 0-100 to 0-1
  source:
    keyValue:
      key: "mission_progress"

Derived Temperature Conversion

kind: DataSourceDefinition
apiVersion: v0.1
metadata:
  scope: account/<accountId>
  id: "temperatureFahrenheit"
spec:
  label: "Temperature"
  unit: "°F"
  precision: 1
  source:
    derived:
      transform: "getValue('temperatureCelsius') * 1.8 + 32"
      filter: "getValue('temperatureCelsius') != null"

System Monitoring

kind: DataSourceDefinition
apiVersion: v0.1
metadata:
  scope: account/<accountId>
  id: "diskUsageRoot"
spec:
  label: "Disk Usage"
  unit: "%"
  scale: 100  # Convert 0-1 to 0-100
  source:
    diskUsage:
      partition: "/"

Related Documentation

• Status Definitions — Use data sources to define robot health
• Expressions Language — Syntax for derived data sources