InOrbit Agent

Connect ROS robots with the InOrbit Agent

The InOrbit Agent is the recommended way to connect ROS and ROS 2 robots to InOrbit. It runs directly on your robot, providing:

• Native ROS integration — Automatic discovery of topics, maps, and cameras
• Secure communication — Encrypted, optimized data channel to InOrbit cloud
• Adaptive sampling — Smart throttling to minimize bandwidth
• Offline buffering — Data is queued when connectivity is lost
• Scripted actions — Execute commands on your robot from InOrbit
• Video streaming — Stream camera feeds to InOrbit Control

Quick Start

1. Get Your Account Key

Log in to InOrbit Console and navigate to Add Robot. Copy your account key.

2. Install the Agent

Run this one-line command on your robot (replace YOUR_ACCOUNT_KEY):

curl "https://control.inorbit.ai/liftoff/YOUR_ACCOUNT_KEY" | sh

Follow the prompts to complete installation. The agent will start automatically and your robot will appear in InOrbit Control.

By default, the robot name is its hostname. You can change this during installation or later in InOrbit Console.

3. Verify Connection

Check that the agent is running:

curl http://localhost:5000

You should see: "InOrbit Agent API: OK"

Installation Options

Debian Package

For production deployments, install the agent as a Debian package:

curl "https://control.inorbit.ai/liftoff/YOUR_ACCOUNT_KEY?variant=deb" | sh

Agent Core Only

If you’re using the Robot SDK and only need the core agent (without ROS integration):

curl "https://control.inorbit.ai/liftoff/YOUR_ACCOUNT_KEY?variant=core" | sh

ROS Integration

The agent automatically detects and subscribes to common ROS topics. You can customize which topics are mapped to InOrbit from InOrbit Console under robot settings.

Publishing Custom Data

You can publish custom key-value data to InOrbit via ROS topics:

# ROS 1
rostopic pub /inorbit/custom_data/0 std_msgs/String "battery=55"
rostopic pub /inorbit/custom_data/0 std_msgs/String "status=docked"

# ROS 2
ros2 topic pub /inorbit/custom_data/0 std_msgs/String "data: 'battery=55'"

Configuration

Agent configuration is stored in ~/.inorbit/local/. Key files:

File	Purpose
agent.env.sh	Environment variables (API port, binding address)
inorbit_agent.log	Agent logs

Common Configuration

Edit ~/.inorbit/local/agent.env.sh to customize:

# Port for SDK communication (default: 5000)
INORBIT_AGENT_API_PORT=5000

# Binding address (default: localhost)
INORBIT_AGENT_API_BINDING=localhost

Troubleshooting

If your robot doesn’t appear in InOrbit Control, check the agent logs at ~/.inorbit/local/inorbit_agent.log. Contact [e-mail] if you need help.

Next Steps

Robot SDK

Add custom data with C++ or Python

Configure Data Sources

Define what data to collect