System Integration

The Cogniteam Cloud Platform agent is a powerful service designed for deployment on edge devices. It supports seamless integration with ROS systems and can operate independently within containerized environments, ensuring flexibility and scalability.

Key Features

• Cloud Communication: Utilizes gRPC for efficient communication with the cloud.
• Low-Latency Video Transmission: Supports WebRTC for real-time video streaming, operable both locally and globally, including in network-isolated environments.
• Optimized for Performance: Includes load-balancing mechanisms to enhance network performance, even with large data sets such as Point Cloud data.

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Integration with ROS-Based Systems

The Cogniteam Cloud Platform agent simplifies integration with ROS1 and ROS2 systems, requiring minimal configuration.

Compatibility

• ROS1 Noetic and ROS2 Humble: Automatically reflects all available topics from the robot to the cloud without additional code.
• Standard ROS Messages: Fully supports all standard ROS message types.
• Custom ROS Messages: Compatible with a wide range of custom messages from our sensor partners.

Technical Details

• RTI DDS: Utilized for ROS2 communication.
• Custom Integrations: Our solutions team provides support for non-standard messages to ensure smooth integration.
• Other ROS Versions: Support is available for other ROS distributions, though minor adjustments may be needed if message definitions vary.

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Integration with Non-ROS-Based Systems

For non-ROS systems, the agent provides flexible data streaming capabilities and custom integrations.

Data Streaming

• Supports streaming data from and to CSV formats.
• Offers custom components to convert data into ROS-compatible formats, managed by the agent.

Protocol Support

Examples of supported protocols include:

• MQTT: Used for applications such as pole light control.
• RTSP: Enables video streaming from IP cameras.

Our solutions team can extend support to other protocols based on specific project requirements.

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Customization and Support

Cogniteam offers comprehensive support for system integration, including:

• Assisting with the incorporation of non-standard message types.
• Providing tailored solutions for unique protocols and data formats.

Whether your system is ROS-based or non-ROS-based, our platform ensures seamless integration and reliable performance.

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Nimbus CLI Integration (Optional)

The Nimbus CLI (nimbus) provides a terminal interface for inspecting and controlling the deployed agent without the web UI. It exposes documented command groups (session, platform, kpi, config, system, comp, device, stream, service, param, datalog, ros2-listen, grep) as described in the dedicated CLI reference.

When to Use Nimbus

• Headless diagnostics (hardware info, KPI monitoring).
• Start/stop data logging locally (e.g., ad‑hoc RTSP or ROS topic recording).
• Inspect / manage components and their parameters.
• Stream or echo messages for quick validation.
• Discover ROS2 topics on specific domains.

Command Pattern

nimbus <group> <command> [arguments]

Use nimbus -h or nimbus <group> -h for contextual help.

Focused Examples (All are documented commands)

1. Session & Access

nimbus session list
nimbus session local

2. Platform / System Health

nimbus platform cpu
nimbus platform memory
nimbus system status

3. KPI Monitoring (Live Metrics)

nimbus kpi monitor-updates

4. Configuration Lifecycle

nimbus config show
nimbus config start
nimbus config stop

5. Data Logging (Recording)

# Record a ROS2 image topic
nimbus datalog start-record /camera/image frontcam raw --file-name run1

# Stop a CLI recorder
nimbus datalog stop-record frontcam

# Start / stop a managed segment
nimbus datalog start-segment cam01
nimbus datalog stop-segment cam01

6. Logs & Upgrades

nimbus system log
nimbus system agent-version
nimbus system upgrade

Scripting Tips

• Prefer explicit group + command; defaults (e.g., nimbus system) map to status.
• Use shell quoting for JSON payloads in stream pub and service calls.
• Back up before upgrades: nimbus system agent-backup pre_upgrade.

Common Failure Modes

Situation	CLI Output	Mitigation
Agent offline	connection timeout	Check service status / restart agent
Unauthorized	permission denied	Ensure API key / roles configured
Component not found	error: unknown component	Verify name via nimbus comp list
Recorder id conflict	error: existing recorder	Choose a unique <id> or stop current

Extending Usage

Use nimbus grep <keyword> to discover commands interactively. Custom extensions are not currently supported via nimbus naming conventions (only documented groups are available).

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Local Access & Monitoring

Recent releases introduced and refined direct local access capabilities:

• Local Monitoring Page: Reach the robot dashboard directly via https://<robot-ip>/monitoring when the agent is installed.

• Local Password: Configure an access password in /etc/nimbus/nimbus.json then retrieve it with:

  nimbus session local

• Edit Mode: Enable local dashboard customization by setting "LOCAL_EDIT_MODE": true in nimbus.json.

• SSH & ROS Settings Exposure: Local access also exposes SSH access guidance and selected ROS-related settings for quicker debugging.

• Fallback Behavior: When cloud connectivity is lost, local monitoring continues functioning (subject to LAN reachability).

Minimal nimbus.json Example

{
  "LOCAL_PASSWORD": "change-me",
  "LOCAL_EDIT_MODE": true,
  "ROS_DOMAIN_ID": 25
}

Security Notes

• Use a strong password; rotate periodically.
• LOCAL_EDIT_MODE should be disabled (false) on production robots to prevent accidental layout edits.
• SSH access should be secured with key-based authentication where possible.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Resolution
403 on /monitoring	Missing/incorrect password	Verify LOCAL_PASSWORD and restart agent
Layout changes not saved	Edit mode disabled	Set LOCAL_EDIT_MODE true and reload page
ROS topics absent	Domain mismatch	Confirm ROS_DOMAIN_ID matches runtime
SSH not reachable	Firewall / service inactive	Validate sshd status and network ACLs

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