How to Stream USB Cameras on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin Using Isaac ROS
- Vadzo Imaging
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Running camera-based perception workloads on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin requires a well-defined software stack and a correctly configured development environment. NVIDIA Isaac ROS builds on ROS 2 and NVIDIA’s GPU acceleration framework to deliver optimized perception and vision pipelines, where precise dependency alignment and interface stability are essential for deterministic performance and consistent camera streaming.
This workflow is demonstrated using the Falcon-821CRS USB 3.2 Gen1 Camera (onsemi's AR0821 sensor), streamed into Isaac ROS using standard V4L2 and ROS 2 camera nodes.
Why Jetson AGX Orin for USB Camera Streaming?
Jetson AGX Orin offers a high-performance edge computing platform with native USB support and GPU acceleration, making it well suited for USB camera–based vision pipelines. Its compute capabilities allow high-resolution USB camera streams to be ingested, processed, and published into Isaac ROS pipelines without additional capture hardware.
For Isaac ROS applications, Jetson AGX Orin enables real-time processing of USB camera data for tasks such as object detection, visual SLAM, and inspection. Camera streams can be decoded and handled locally, reducing latency and simplifying system architecture.
By combining standard USB cameras with on-device GPU acceleration, Jetson AGX Orin supports compact, self-contained vision systems suitable for prototyping, edge AI development, and production robotics without reliance on cloud connectivity.
System Requirements for Isaac ROS on Jetson AGX Orin
To run NVIDIA Isaac ROS efficiently, the system must meet the following hardware and software requirements. These ensure proper GPU acceleration, container support, and stable runtime behavior for robotics workloads. To know more about Isaac ROS, check out our dedicated blog - What is NVIDIA® Isaac ROS?
Hardware Platform
Jetson AGX Orin
Software Stack
JetPack Version: JetPack 6.1
Kernel Version: 5.15.148-tegra
Isaac ROS is designed to leverage NVIDIA’s acceleration stack on Jetson platforms. To use the container-based development and runtime environment provided by Isaac ROS, the NVIDIA Container Toolkit must be installed and configured on the Jetson device. This enables GPU access inside Docker containers and is a mandatory requirement before working with Isaac ROS packages.
Before proceeding further, ensure that Isaac ROS is properly installed and verified on Jetson AGX Orin. For a step-by-step installation and setup guide, refer to our dedicated blog on How to Install NVIDIA Isaac ROS on Jetson AGX Orin.
Streaming a USB Camera on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin using Isaac ROS
This blog provides a detailed, step-by-step guide to streaming a Vadzo's Falcon-821CRS (onsemi's AR0821 sensor) USB 3.2 Gen 1 camera on the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin platform using Isaac ROS. The procedure covers the complete flow starting from setting up the Isaac ROS development environment, installing the required system dependencies, identifying the connected USB camera using V4L2 utilities, and finally launching ROS 2 nodes to stream and visualize the camera feed.
This guide is intended for developers working on camera-based perception or vision applications on Jetson platforms.
1. Install Isaac ROS Development Environment
The first step is to create the Isaac ROS workspace and launch the Isaac ROS development container. The development container provides a pre-configured environment with all required ROS 2 and Isaac ROS dependencies, ensuring consistency and ease of development.
Create the workspace directory and set the environment variable:
mkdir -p /mnt/nova_ssd/workspaces/isaac_ros-dev/src
echo "export ISAAC_ROS_WS=/mnt/nova_ssd/workspaces/isaac_ros-dev/" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc Navigate to the Isaac ROS common package and start the development container:
cd ${ISAAC_ROS_WS}/src/isaac_ros_common && \
./scripts/run_dev.sh -d ${ISAAC_ROS_WS}If the container starts successfully, the terminal prompt will change to:
admin@nvidia-desktop:/workspaces/isaac_ros-dev$This confirms that you are now inside the Isaac ROS development container and ready to proceed with further steps.
2. Install Required V4L2 and GStreamer Dependencies
To enable camera access and video streaming, the system requires V4L2 (Video4Linux2) utilities and GStreamer libraries. These packages allow low-level camera control, video capture, and media pipeline handling.
Update the package list and install the required dependencies:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install v4l-utils
sudo apt install -y gstreamer1.0-tools
sudo apt install -y gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly gstreamer1.0-libav Once installed, the system will be capable of detecting USB cameras and handling various video formats required for streaming.
3. Connect the Camera and Identify the Video Node
Connect the USB camera to the Jetson AGX Orin device. After connecting the camera, use the V4L2 utility to list all detected video devices:
v4l2-ctl --list-devicesThis command displays the connected camera name along with its associated video device node (for example, /dev/video0 or /dev/video1). Identify the correct video device corresponding to your camera, as this device node will be used when launching the ROS camera node.
4. Streaming the Camera
Once the camera device is identified, the camera stream can be launched using ROS 2 nodes inside the Isaac ROS development container.
Terminal 1 – Start the V4L2 Camera Node
Open a terminal inside the container and run the V4L2 camera node. This node captures video frames from the USB camera and publishes them as ROS image topics.
ros2 run v4l2_camera v4l2_camera_node \
--ros-args \
-p video_device:=/dev/video0 \
-p image_size:="[1920,1080]" \
-p pixel_format:=UYVYvideo_device specifies the camera device node.
image_size sets the resolution of the camera stream.
pixel_format defines the camera output format.
Update the video_device parameter if your camera is mapped to a different device node.
Note: Do not close this terminal. Keep the V4L2 camera node running.
Terminal 2 – View the Camera Stream
Open another terminal inside the container to visualize the camera stream. Use the image_view node to subscribe to the camera image topic and display the live feed.
ros2 run image_view image_view --ros-args -r image:=/image_raw Expected Result: A window will open showing the live video stream from the connected USB camera, confirming that the camera is successfully streaming through Isaac ROS.
Scalable Edge USB Camera Integration with Isaac ROS
This setup demonstrates a practical and efficient approach to integrating USB cameras into an Isaac ROS–based robotic pipeline on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin. By streaming camera data through standard V4L2 interfaces and publishing it as ROS 2 image topics, USB cameras become directly compatible with GPU-accelerated perception and AI workflows.
The approach highlights how USB cameras can be deployed in compact, edge-based robotic systems where simplicity, low latency, and tight hardware integration are required. With native USB support on Jetson AGX Orin, this architecture avoids external capture hardware while enabling stable, real-time vision processing for robotics and embedded AI applications operating entirely at the edge.
For similar deployments, selecting a USB camera with reliable driver support and ROS compatibility is key to achieving consistent performance with Isaac ROS pipelines.
Vadzo Imaging USB Camera Portfolio
Vadzo Imaging offers a range of USB cameras designed for seamless integration with NVIDIA Jetson platforms and Isaac ROS–based systems. Built on UVC-compliant architectures, our USB cameras support stable streaming, broad OS compatibility, and straightforward deployment for edge vision and robotics use cases.
Recommended USB Cameras for Isaac ROS:
For technical queries, integration support, or product-related assistance, contact us at support@vadzoimaging.com.
