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Changelog

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A log of added features, improvements, and changes over time.

/appendix/release-notes/

/components/camera/single-stream/

/components/camera/dual-stream/

/components/camera/align-color-depth-extrinsics/

/components/camera/align-color-depth-homography/

/components/board/customlinux/

/components/board/jetson/

/components/board/pca9685/

/components/board/ti/

/components/gripper/softrobotics/

/components/motor/encoded-motor/

/components/motor/gpiostepper/

/components/motor/roboclaw/

/components/movement-sensor/adxl345/

/components/movement-sensor/dual-gps-rtk/

/components/movement-sensor/gps-nmea-rtk-pmtk/

/components/movement-sensor/gps-nmea-rtk-serial/

/components/movement-sensor/gps-nmea/

/components/movement-sensor/wheeled-odometry/

/components/power-sensor/ina219/

/components/power-sensor/ina226/

/components/sensor/bme280/

/components/sensor/ds18b20/

/components/sensor/sensirion-sht3xd/

/appendix/changelog/

changelog

rss

html

2024-09-18

{{% changelog color="changed" title="Viam provisioning" date="2025-03-24" %}}

You can now set any viam-agent configuration values to customized defaults. If you are using viam-agent version X.X.X or newer, the provisioning file is called viam-defaults.json and uses new syntax and field names. When provisioning devices using an older version of viam-agent, the configuration file needs to be called viam-provisioning.json.

If you are using the old viam-provisioning.json you must also use the old syntax and field names.

{
  "manufacturer": "<NAME>", # your company name
  "model": "<NAME>", # the machine's model
  "fragment_id": "<ID>", # the fragment id, required for mobile app
  "hotspot_prefix": "<PREFIX>", # machine creates a hotspot during setup
  "disable_dns_redirect": true, # disable if using a mobile app
  "hotspot_password": "<PASSWORD>", # password for the hotspot
  "networks" : []
}

{
  "manufacturer": "Skywalker",
  "model": "C-3PO",
  "fragment_id": "2567c87d-7aef-41bc-b82c-d363f9874663",
  "hotspot_prefix": "skywalker-setup",
  "disable_dns_redirect": true,
  "hotspot_password": "skywalker123",
  "roaming_mode": false,
  "offline_timeout": "3m30s",
  "user_timeout": "2m30s",
  "fallback_timeout": "15m"
}

This file configures some basic metadata, specifies a fragment to use to configure the machine, and provides the WiFi hotspot network name and password to use on startup. It also configures timeouts to control how long viam-agent waits for a valid local WiFi network to come online before creating its hotspot network, and how long to keep the hotspot active before terminating it.

Name	Type	Required?	Description
`manufacturer`	string	Optional	Purely informative. May be displayed on captive portal or provisioning app. Default: `"viam"`.
`model`	string	Optional	Purely informative. May be displayed on captive portal or provisioning app. Default: `"custom"`.
`fragment_id`	string	Optional	The `fragment_id` of the fragment to configure machines with. Required when using the Viam mobile app for provisioning. The Viam mobile app uses the fragment to configure the machine.
`hotspot_interface`	string	Optional	The interface to use for hotspot/provisioning/wifi management. Default: first discovered 802.11 device.
`hotspot_prefix`	string	Optional	`viam-agent` will prepend this to the hostname of the device and use the resulting string for the provisioning hotspot SSID. Default: `"viam-setup"`.
`hotspot_password`	string	Optional	The Wifi password for the provisioning hotspot. Default: `"viamsetup"`.
`disable_dns_redirect`	boolean	Optional	By default, ALL DNS lookups using the provisioning hotspot will redirect to the device. This causes most phones/mobile devices to automatically redirect the user to the captive portal as a "sign in" screen. When disabled, only domains ending in .setup (ex: viam.setup) will be redirected. This generally avoids displaying the portal to users and is mainly used in conjunction with a mobile provisioning application workflow. Default: `false`.
`roaming_mode`	boolean	Optional	By default, the device will only attempt to connect to a single wifi network (the one with the highest priority), provided during initial provisioning/setup using the provisioning mobile app or captive web portal. Wifi connection alone is enough to consider the device as "online" even if the global internet is not reachable. If the primary network configured during provisioning cannot be connected to and roaming mode is enabled, the device will attempt connections to all configured networks in `networks`, and only consider the device online if the internet is reachable. Default: `false`.
`offline_timeout`	boolean	Optional	Will only enter provisioning mode (hotspot) after being disconnected longer than this time. Useful on flaky connections, or when part of a system where the device may start quickly, but the wifi/router may take longer to be available. Default: `"2m"` (2 minutes).
`user_timeout`	boolean	Optional	Amount of time before considering a user (using the captive web portal or provisioning app) idle, and resuming normal behavior. Used to avoid interrupting provisioning mode (for example for network tests/retries) when a user might be busy entering details. Default: `"5m"` (5 minutes).
`fallback_timeout`	boolean	Optional	Provisioning mode will exit after this time, to allow other unmanaged (for example wired) or manually configured connections to be tried. Provisioning mode will restart if the connection/online status doesn't change. Default: `"10m"` (10 minutes).
`networks`	array	Optional	Add additional networks the machine can connect to for provisioning. We recommend that you add WiFi settings in the operating system (for example, directly in NetworkManager) rather than in this file, or in the corresponding machine config in the Viam app, if networks aren't needed until after initial provisioning. Default: `[]`.
`wifi_power_save`	boolean	Optional	If set, will explicitly enable or disable power save for all WiFi connections managed by NetworkManager.
`device_reboot_after_offline_minutes`	integer	Optional	If set, `viam-agent` will reboot the device after it has been offline for the specified duration. Default: `0` (disabled).

{{% changelog color="added" title="Store metadata" date="2025-03-28" %}}

You can store and retrieve arbitrary metadata about your organization, location, machine, and machine part with the Fleet Management API.

{{% changelog color="added" title="Hot Data Store" date="2025-03-11" %}}

The hot data store allows you to access recent data faster.

{{% changelog color="changed" title="Config uses API instead of type and namespace" date="2025-03-25" %}}

The JSON configuration for a resource now uses a field called api for the {{< glossary_tooltip term_id="api-namespace-triplet" text="API triplet" >}} instead of the deprecated type and namespace fields. For example, instead of:

{
  "name": "my_board",
  "namespace": "rdk",
  "type": "board",
  "model": "viam:nvidia:jetson"
}

You should use:

{
  "name": "my_board",
  "api": "rdk:component:board",
  "model": "viam:nvidia:jetson"
}

Backward compatibility is maintained for existing configurations.

{{% changelog color="removed" title="Managed Processes" date="2025-02-01" %}}

Managed Processes are now deprecated and will be removed in a future version of viam-server. Instead use modules for control logic.

{{% changelog color="added" title="White labelled billing and custom pricing" date="2025-02-01" %}}

You can now set custom pricing for your organizations and add your logo to invoices and other billing materials.

{{% changelog color="removed" title="Stream removed from Go camera interface" date="2025-02-01" %}}

The Stream API method has been removed from the Go SDK camera interface. For updated Go usage information, see GetImage.

{{% changelog color="added" title="Button API and switch API" date="2025-01-27" %}}

Two new component APIs, the button API and switch API, have been added.

{{% changelog color="added" title="Discovery service API" date="2025-01-27" %}}

The discovery service API has been added. You can now write modules that discover resources on a machine.

{{% changelog color="removed" title="DiscoverComponents" date="2025-01-27" %}}

The DiscoverComponents method has been removed from the machine management API. Instead, use a discovery service to discover resources on a machine.

You can now authenticate end users with OAuth.

{{% changelog color="added" title="Over-the-air updates for the Micro-RDK" date="2025-01-08" %}}

You can now update microcontroller firmware from anywhere using the OTA update service.

{{% changelog date="2024-11-12" color="added" title="Builtin models moved to modules" %}}

The following resource models have moved to modules.

Resource	Model
board	`customlinux`
board	`jetson`
board	`pca9685`
board	`odroid`
board	`ti`
board	`pi`
board	`orange-pi`
board	`upboard`
motor	`tmc5072`
motor	`28byj-48`
encoder	`ams-as5048`
movement sensor	`adxl345`
movement sensor	`dual-gps-rtk`
movement sensor	`gps-nmea-rtk-pmtk`
movement sensor	`gps-nmea-rtk-serial`
movement sensor	`gps-nmea`
movement sensor	`imu-wit`
movement sensor	`imu-wit-hwt905`
movement sensor	`mpu6050`
power sensor	`ina219`
power sensor	`ina226`
power sensor	`renogy`
sensor	`bme280`
sensor	`sensirion-sht3xd`
sensor	`pi`
sensor	`ultrasonic`
ML model	`TFLite CPU`

The following models were removed:

Resource	Model
gripper	`softrobotics`
motor	`encoded-motor`
motor	`gpiostepper`
motor	`roboclaw`
sensor	`ds18b20`

{{% changelog date="2024-11-05" color="added" title="MoveThroughJointPositions to arm interface" %}} The arm interface now includes a MoveThroughJointPositions method that moves an arm through an ordered array of joint positions. {{% /changelog %}}

{{% changelog date="2024-10-16" color="added" title="Set data retention policies" %}}

You can now set how long data collected by a component should remain stored in the Viam Cloud in the component's data capture configuration. For more information, see Data management service.

{{% changelog date="2024-09-20" color="added" title="Pi models moved to module" %}}

The Raspberry Pi 4, 3, and Zero 2 W boards are now supported by viam:raspberry-pi:rpi.

{{% changelog date="2024-08-26" color="added" title="ESP32 cameras" %}}

viam-micro-server now supports cameras on ESP32s. For more information, see Configure an esp32-camera.

{{% changelog date="2024-08-26" color="changed" title="Micro-RDK now called viam-micro-server" %}}

The lightweight version of viam-server that is built from the Micro-RDK is now referred to as viam-micro-server. For more information, see viam-micro-server.

{{% changelog date="2024-08-26" color="added" title="Provisioning" %}}

You can now configure provisioning for machines with the Viam Agent. For more information, see Configure provisioning with viam-agent.

{{% changelog date="2024-08-16" color="added" title="Data capture for vision" %}}

Data capture is now possible for the vision service. For more information, see Supported components and services.

{{% changelog date="2024-08-01" color="added" title="Create custom training scripts" %}}

You can now upload custom training scripts to the Viam Registry and use them to train machine learning models. For more information, see Create custom training scripts.

{{% changelog date="2024-07-19" color="changed" title="Operators can now view data" %}}

The operator role now has view permissions for the data in the respective resource a user has access to. For more information, see Data and machine learning permissions.

{{% changelog date="2024-06-14" color="changed" title="Python get_robot_part_logs parameters" %}}

The errors_only parameter has been removed from get_robot_part_logs() and replaced with log_levels.

{{% changelog date="2024-05-28" color="changed" title="Return type of analog Read" %}}

The board analog API Read() method now returns an AnalogValue struct instead of a single int. The struct contains an int representing the value of the reading, min and max range of values, and the precision of the reading.

{{% changelog date="2024-05-28" color="added" title="CaptureAllFromCamera and GetProperties to vision API" %}}

The vision service now supports two new methods: CaptureAllFromCamera and GetProperties.

{{% changelog date="2024-05-14" color="changed" title="Renamed GeoObstacle to GeoGeometry" %}}

The motion service API parameter GeoObstacle has been renamed to GeoGeometry. This affects users of the MoveOnGlobe() method.

{{< changelog date="2024-05-09" color="changed" title="Return type of GetImage" >}}

The Python SDK introduced a new image container class called ViamImage. The camera component's GetImage() method now returns a ViamImage type, and the vision service's GetDetections() and GetClassifications() methods take in ViamImage as a parameter.

You can use the helper functions viam_to_pil_image and pil_to_viam_image provided by the Python SDK to convert the ViamImage into a PIL Image and vice versa.

{{< expand "Click for an example of using the ViamImage -> PIL Image helper functions." >}}

from viam.media.utils.pil import pil_to_viam_image, viam_to_pil_image

# Get the ViamImage from your camera.
frame = await my_camera.get_image()

# Convert "frame" to a PIL Image representation.
pil_frame = viam_to_pil_image(frame)

# Use methods from the PIL Image class to get size.
x, y = pil_frame.size[0], pil_frame.size[1]
# Crop image to get only the left two fifths of the original image.
cropped_pil_frame = pil_frame.crop((0, 0, x / 2.5, y))

# Convert back to ViamImage.
cropped_frame = pil_to_viam_image(cropped_pil_frame)

# Get detections from your vision service.
detections = await detector.get_detections(cropped_frame)

{{% changelog date="2024-05-08" color="removed" title="WriteAnalog from Go SDK" %}}

The WriteAnalog() method has been removed from the Go SDK. Use AnalogByName() followed by Write() instead.

{{% changelog date="2024-04-30" color="changed" title="Python SDK data retrieval behavior" %}}

tabular_data_by_filter() and binary_data_by_filter() now return paginated data.

{{% changelog date="2024-04-30" color="changed" title="Renamed AnalogReader to Analog" %}}

AnalogReader has been renamed to Analog. The functionality remains the same, but code that uses analogs must be updated. AnalogReaderByName() and AnalogReaderNames() have become AnalogByName() and AnalogNames() (since deprecated), respectively.

{{% changelog date="2024-04-30" color="added" title="Part online and part offline triggers" %}}

You can now configure triggers to execute actions when a {{< glossary_tooltip term_id="part" text="machine part" >}} comes online or goes offline.

{{% changelog date="2024-04-30" color="removed" title="Status from Board API" %}}

Viam has removed support for the following board API methods: Status(), AnalogStatus(), DigitalInterruptStatus(), Close(), Tick(), AddCallback(), and RemoveCallback().

{{% changelog date="2024-04-19" color="removed" title="Removed and replaced camera models" %}}

Viam has removed support for following builtin camera models: single_stream, dual_stream, align_color_depth_extrinsics, and align_color_depth_homography.

{{% changelog date="2024-04-17" color="changed" title="Updated GetCloudMetadata response" %}}

In addition to the existing returned metadata, the GetCloudMetadata method now returns machine_id and machine_part_id as well.

{{% changelog date="2024-04-16" color="improved" title="Viam app interface" %}}

the Viam app machine page UI has been updated significantly. In addition to other improvements, your component, service, and other resource config cards are all displayed on one page instead of in separate tabs.

{{% changelog date="2024-03-01" color="added" title="Additional ML models" %}}

Viam has added support for the TensorFlow, PyTorch, and ONNX ML model frameworks, expanding upon the existing support for TensorFlow Lite models. You can now upload your own ML model(/data-ai/ai/deploy/#deploy-your-ml-model-on-an-ml-model-service) using any of these frameworks for use with the Vision service.

{{% changelog date="2024-03-01" color="added" title="Ultrasonic sensor for viam-micro-server" %}}

You can now use the ultrasonic sensor component with viam-micro-server to integrate an HC-S204 ultrasonic distance sensor into a machine running viam-micro-server.

{{% changelog date="2024-03-01" color="added" title="Edit a machine configuration that uses a fragment" %}}

You can now edit the configuration of an existing machine that has been configured with a fragment by using the fragment_mods object in your configuration. You can use the fragment_mods objects to be able to deploy a fragment to a fleet of machines, but still be able to make additional per-machine edits as needed.

{{% changelog date="2024-03-01" color="added" title="Dual GPS movement sensor" %}}

You can now use the dual GPS movement sensor component to integrate a movement sensor that employs two GPS sensors into your machine. The dual GPS movement sensor calculates a compass heading from both GPS sensors, and returns the midpoint position between the two sensors as its position.

{{% changelog date="2024-03-01" color="added" title="Viam Agent" %}}

You can now use the Viam Agent to provision your machine or fleet of machines during deployment. The Viam Agent is a software provisioning manager that you can install on your machine which manages your viam-server installation, including installation and ongoing updates, as well as providing flexible deployment configuration options, such as pre-configured WiFi network credentials.

{{% changelog date="2024-02-12" color="added" title="Generic service" %}}

You can now use the generic service to define new, unique types of services that do not already have an appropriate API defined for them.

{{% changelog date="2024-02-12" color="added" title="ML models in the registry" %}}

You can now upload machine learning (ML) models to the Viam Registry, in addition to modules. You may upload models you have trained yourself using the Viam app, or models you have trained outside of the App. When uploading, you have the option to make your model available to the general public for reuse.

{{% changelog date="2024-01-31" color="added" title="Sensor-controlled base" %}}

Viam has added a sensor-controlled base component model, which supports a robotic base that receives feedback control from a movement sensor.

{{% changelog date="2024-01-31" color="added" title="Visualize captured data" %}}

You can now visualize your data using many popular third-party visualization tools, including Grafana, Tableau, Google’s Looker Studio, and more. You can visualize any data, such as sensor readings, that you have synced to the Viam app from your machine.

See Visualize data with Grafana for a full walkthrough focused on Grafana specifically.

{{% changelog date="2024-01-31" color="added" title="Use triggers to trigger actions" %}}

You can now configure triggers (previously called webhooks) to execute actions when certain types of data are sent from your machine to the cloud.

{{% changelog date="2023-12-31" color="added" title="Filtered camera module" %}}

Viam has added a filtered-camera module that selectively captures and syncs only the images that match the detections of an ML model. For example, you could train an ML model that is focused on sports cars, and only capture images from the camera feed when a sports car is detected in the frame.

Check out this guide for more information.

{{% changelog date="2023-12-31" color="added" title="Raspberry Pi 5 Support" %}}

You can now run viam-server on a Raspberry Pi 5 with the new board model pi5.

{{% changelog date="2023-12-31" color="added" title="Role-based access control" %}}

Users can now have access to different fleet management capabilities depending on whether they are an owner or an operator of a given organization, location, or machine.

{{% changelog date="2023-11-30" color="added" title="Authenticate with location API key" %}}

You can now use API keys for authentication. API keys allow you to assign the minimum required permissions for usage. Location secrets, the previous method of authentication, is deprecated and will be removed in a future release.

{{% changelog date="2023-11-30" color="added" title="Queryable sensor data" %}}

Once you have added the data management service and synced data, such as sensor readings, to the Viam app, you can now run queries against both captured data as well as its metadata using either SQL or MQL.

For more information, see Query Data with SQL or MQL.

{{% changelog date="2023-11-30" color="changed" title="Model training from datasets" %}}

To make it easier to iterate while training machine learning models from image data, you now train models from datasets.

{{% changelog date="2023-11-30" color="improved" title="Manage users access" %}}

You can now manage users access to machines, locations, and organizations. For more information, see Access Control

{{% changelog date="2023-10-31" color="added" title="Test an ML model in browser" %}}

After you upload and train a machine learning model, you can test its results in the Data tab.

This allows you to refine models by iteratively tagging more images for training based on observed performance.

For more information, see Test classification models with existing images in the cloud.

To use this update, the classifier must have been trained or uploaded after September 19, 2023. The current version of this feature exclusively supports classification models.

{{% changelog date="2023-10-31" color="added" title="PLC support" %}}

The Viam platform now supports the Revolution Pi line of PLCs from KUNBUS in the form of a module. This collaboration allows you to leverage the Raspberry Pi-based Revolution Pi, which runs on Linux and has a specially designed I/O modules for streamlined interaction with industrial controls, eliminating the need for additional components.

Read the Viam PLC Support blog post for a step-by-step guide on using a PLC with Viam.

{{% changelog date="2023-10-31" color="improved" title="SLAM map creation" %}}

The Cartographer-module now runs in Viam's cloud for creating or updating maps. This enhancement allows you to:

Generate larger maps without encountering session timeouts
Provide IMU input to improve map quality
Save maps to the SLAM library
Create or update maps using previously captured LiDAR and IMU data
Deploy maps to machines

{{% changelog date="2023-09-30" color="added" title="Modular registry" %}}

The Modular Registry enables you to use, create, and share custom modules, extending the capabilities of Viam beyond the components and services that are natively supported.

You can:

Publish modules on the registry
Add modules to any machine's configuration with a few clicks
Select the desired module version for deployment, make changes at your convenience, and deploy the updates to a single machine or an entire fleet.

{{% changelog date="2023-09-30" color="added" title="Mobile app" %}}

You can use a mobile application, available for download now in the Apple and Google Play app stores, to connect to and control your Viam-powered machines directly from your mobile device.

{{% changelog date="2023-09-30" color="added" title="Power sensor component" %}}

You now have the capability to use a power sensor component to monitor the voltage, current, and power consumption within your machine's system.

{{% changelog date="2023-09-30" color="added" title="Filter component’s data before the cloud" %}} Viam has written a module that allows you to filter data based on specific criteria before syncing it to Viam's cloud. It equips machines to:

Remove data that is not of interest
Facilitate high-interval captures while saving data based on your defined metrics
Prevent the upload of unnecessary data

To learn more, see this tutorial on creating and configuring a data filtration module.

{{% changelog date="2023-08-31" color="added" title="Configure a custom Linux board" %}}

You can now use boards like the Mediatek Genio 500 Pumpkin that run Linux operating systems with the customlinux board model.

{{% changelog date="2023-08-31" color="improved" title="Image inspection for ML training" %}}

This update enables you to get a closer examination of your image and streamline your image annotation experience by making it easier to add bounding boxes and labels in the Data tab.

With the latest improvements, you can now:

Navigate between images using the arrow keys in the main image view
Expand images for a more detailed inspection by clicking the expand button on the right image panel
Move between full-screen images effortlessly with the <> arrow buttons or arrow keys
Return to the standard view by using the escape key or collapse button

{{% changelog date="2023-08-31" color="added" title="Duplicate component button" %}}

You now have the ability to duplicate any config component, service, module, remote, or process.

To use this feature:

Click on the duplicate component icon at the top right of any resource
Optionally, you can modify the component name to distinguish it
Adjust any attributes, such as motor pin numbers

{{% changelog date="2023-07-31" color="added" title="Apple SSO authentication" %}}

Viam now supports sign-up/log-in through Apple Single Sign-On.

Note that currently, accounts from different SSO providers are treated separately, with no account merging functionality.

{{% changelog date="2023-07-31" color="improved" title="Arm component API" %}}

Arm models now support the GetKinematics method in the arm API, allowing you to request and receive kinematic information.

{{% changelog date="2023-06-30" color="added" title="View sensor data within Viam" %}}

You can now view your sensor data directly in the Viam app to verify data creation and accuracy. If you depend on sensor data to plan and control machine operations, this feature increases access to data and supports a more efficient workflow.

{{% changelog date="2023-06-30" color="added" title="Session management in the Python SDK" %}}

The Python SDK now includes sessions, a safety feature that automatically cancels operations if the client loses connection to your machine.

Session management helps you to ensure safer operation of your machine when dealing with actuating controls. Sessions are enabled by default, with the option to disable sessions.

{{% changelog date="2023-06-30" color="added" title="Connect an ODrive motor controller as a Viam module" %}}

You can integrate and control ODrive motor controllers with Viam using the odrive module from the Viam Registry.

See the Odrive module readme to learn how to connect and use an ODrive motor controller with Viam, and view the sample configurations.

{{% changelog date="2023-06-30" color="added" title="Implement custom robotic arms as Viam modules" %}}

When prototyping a robotic arm, you can now facilitate movement without creating your own motion planning. This update enables you to implement custom models of an arm component as a modular resource by coding three endpoints of the Arm API:

getJointPositions
movetoJointPositions
GetKinematics

Then, use the motion planning service to specify poses, and Viam handles the rest.

{{% changelog date="2023-06-30" color="improved" title="Gantry component" %}}

To better control gantries with Viam, you can now:

Specify speed values when calling the MovetoPosition method on Gantry components. This allows you to define the speed at which each axis moves to the desired position, providing enhanced precision and control over the gantry's movement.
Set a home position for Gantry components to facilitate position resetting or maintain consistent starting points.

{{% changelog date="2023-06-30" color="improved" title="Optimized Viam-trained object detection models" %}}

This update for TFlite object detection models trained with the machine learning service brings significant improvements, including:

76% faster model inference for camera streams
64% quicker model training for object detection
46% reduction in compressed model size

{{% changelog date="2023-05-31" color="added" title="TypeScript SDK beta release" %}}

The beta release of the TypeScript SDK allows you to create a web interface to work with your machine, as well as create custom components and services.

{{% changelog date="2023-05-31" color="added" title="Train object detection ML models" %}}

You now have the capability to directly train a TFlite object detection models in addition to image classification models from within the Viam app.

This update allows you to:

Add labels by drawing bounding boxes around specific objects in your images or a single image.
Create a curated subset of data for training by filtering images based on labels or tags.

{{% changelog date="2023-05-31" color="added" title="Permissions for organizations in Viam" %}}

Now when you invite collaborators to join your organization, you can assign permissions to members by setting one of these roles:

Owner: These members can see and edit every tab on the machine page, as well as manage users in the app. This role is best for those on your team who are actively engineering and building machines.
Operator: These members can only see and use the remote control tab. This role is best for those on your team who are teleoperating or remotely controlling machines.

For more information about assigning permissions and collaborating with others on Viam, see Manage access.

{{% changelog date="2023-05-31" color="improved" title="Control RoboClaw motor controllers with the driver" %}}

When using a RoboClaw motor controller without encoders connected to your motors, you now have more direct control over the RoboClaw’s functionality within Viam or through the motor API.

For example, in the Viam app, you can now set Go For values for these motors, utilizing a time-based estimation for the number of revolutions.

{{% changelog date="2023-05-31" color="improved" title="Camera webcam names and setting framerates" %}}

The updates to the camera component have improved the process of connecting to and using cameras with your machines.

The latest updates enable you to:

View readable webcam names in the video path of your camera component.
Specify your preferred framerate by selecting the desired value in the newly added framerate field on the CONFIGURE tab.

{{% changelog date="2023-05-31" color="improved" title="Additions to code samples in the Viam app" %}}

The updated code samples now includes:

Options for C++ and TypeScript
The ability to hide or display your machines' secrets

Access these samples in the Code sample tab on your machine's page to connect to your machine in various languages.

{{% changelog date="2023-05-31" color="improved" title="Delete data in bulk in the Viam app" %}}

You can manage the data synced to Viam's cloud with the new capability for bulk data deletion on the Data tab.

{{% changelog date="2023-04-25" color="changed" title="Vision service" %}}

The vision service became more modular in RDK v0.2.36, API v0.1.118, and Python SDK v0.2.18.

Find more information on each of the changes below.

Use individual vision service instances

You need to create an individual vision service instance for each detector, classifier, and segmenter model. You can no longer be able to create one vision service and register all of your detectors, classifiers, and segmenters within it.

API calls

Change your existing API calls to get the new vision service instance for your detector, classifier, or segmenter model directly from the VisionClient:

my_object_detector = VisionClient.from_robot(robot, "find_objects")
img = await cam.get_image()
detections = await my_object_detector.get_detections(img)

vision = VisionServiceClient.from_robot(robot)
img = await cam.get_image()
detections = await vision.get_detections(img, "find_objects")

Color detector configurations

You can replace existing color detectors by configuring new ones in the UI or you can update the JSON configuration of your machines:

"services": [
    {
        "name": "blue_square",
        "type": "vision",
        "model": "color_detector",
        "attributes": {
            "segment_size_px": 100,
            "detect_color": "#1C4599",
            "hue_tolerance_pct": 0.07,
            "value_cutoff_pct": 0.15
        }
    },
    {
        "name": "green_triangle",
        "type": "vision",
        "model": "color_detector",
        "attributes": {
            "segment_size_px": 200,
            "detect_color": "#62963F",
            "hue_tolerance_pct": 0.05,
            "value_cutoff_pct": 0.20
        }
    },
    ... // other services
]

"services": [
    {
        "name": "vision",
        "type": "vision",
        "attributes": {
            "register_models": [
            {
                "parameters": {
                    "segment_size_px": 100,
                    "detect_color": "#1C4599",
                    "hue_tolerance_pct": 0.07,
                    "value_cutoff_pct": 0.15
                },
                "name": "blue_square",
                "type": "color_detector"
            },
            {
                "parameters": {
                    "segment_size_px": 200,
                    "detect_color": "#62963F",
                    "hue_tolerance_pct": 0.05,
                    "value_cutoff_pct": 0.20
                },
                "name": "green_triangle",
                "type": "color_detector"
            }
            ]
        }
    },
    ... // other services
]

TFLite detector configurations

You can replace existing TFLite detectors by configuring new ones in the UI or you can update the JSON configuration of your machines:

"services": [
    {
        "name": "person_detector",
        "type": "mlmodel",
        "model": "tflite_cpu",
        "attributes": {
            "model_path": "/path/to/file.tflite",
            "label_path": "/path/to/labels.tflite",
            "num_threads": 1
        }
    },
    {
        "name": "person_detector",
        "type": "vision",
        "model": "mlmodel",
        "attributes": {
            "mlmodel_name": "person_detector"
        }
    },
    ... // other services
]

"services": [
    {
        "name": "vision",
        "type": "vision",
        "attributes": {
            "register_models": [
            {
                "parameters": {
                    "model_path": "/path/to/file.tflite",
                    "label_path": "/path/to/labels.tflite",
                    "num_threads": 1
                },
                "name": "person_detector",
                "type": "tflite_detector"
            }
            ]
        }
    },
    ... // other services
]

TFLite Classifier configurations

You can replace existing TFLite classifiers by configuring new ones in the UI or you can update the JSON configuration of your machines:

"services": [
    {
        "name": "fruit_classifier",
        "type": "mlmodel",
        "model": "tflite_cpu",
        "attributes": {
            "model_path": "/path/to/classifier_file.tflite",
            "label_path": "/path/to/classifier_labels.txt",
            "num_threads": 1
        }
    },
    {
        "name": "fruit_classifier",
        "type": "vision",
        "model": "mlmodel",
        "attributes": {
            "mlmodel_name": "fruit_classifier"
        }
    },
    ... // other services
]

"services": [
    {
        "name": "vision",
        "type": "vision",
        "attributes": {
            "register_models": [
            {
                "parameters": {
                    "model_path": "/path/to/classifier_file.tflite",
                    "label_path": "/path/to/classifier_labels.txt",
                    "num_threads": 1
                },
                "name": "fruit_classifier",
                "type": "tflite_classifier"
            }
            ]
        }
    },
    ... // other services
]

Radius Clustering 3D segmenter configurations

You can replace existing Radius Clustering 3D segmenters by configuring new ones in the UI or you can update the JSON configuration of your machines:

"services": [
    {
        "name": "rc_segmenter",
        "type": "vision",
        "model": "obstacles_pointcloud"
        "attributes": {
            "min_points_in_plane": 1000,
            "min_points_in_segment": 50,
            "clustering_radius_mm": 3.2,
            "mean_k_filtering": 10
        }
    },
    ... // other services
]

"services": [
    {
        "name": "vision",
        "type": "vision",
        "attributes": {
            "register_models": [
            {
                "parameters": {
                    "min_points_in_plane": 1000,
                    "min_points_in_segment": 50,
                    "clustering_radius_mm": 3.2,
                    "mean_k_filtering": 10
                },
                "name": "rc_segmenter",
                "type": "radius_clustering_segmenter"
            }
            ]
        }
    },
    ... // other services
]

Detector to 3D segmenter configurations

You can replace existing Radius Clustering 3D segmenters by configuring new ones in the UI or you can update the JSON configuration of your machines:

"services": [
    {
        "name": "my_segmenter",
        "type": "vision",
        "model": "detector_3d_segmenter"
        "attributes": {
            "detector_name": "my_detector",
            "confidence_threshold_pct": 0.5,
            "mean_k": 50,
            "sigma": 2.0
        }
    },
    ... // other services
]

"services": [
    {
        "name": "vision",
        "type": "vision",
        "attributes": {
            "register_models": [
            {
                "parameters": {
                    "detector_name": "my_detector",
                    "confidence_threshold_pct": 0.5,
                    "mean_k": 50,
                    "sigma": 2.0
                },
                "name": "my_segmenter",
                "type": "detector_segmenter"
            }
            ]
        }
    },
    ... // other services
]

Add and remove models using the machine config

You must add and remove models using the machine config. You will no longer be able to add or remove models using the SDKs.

Add machine learning vision models to a vision service

The way to add machine learning vision models is changing. You will need to first register the machine learning model file with the ML model service and then add that registered model to a vision service.

{{% changelog date="2023-03-31" color="added" title="Machine learning for image classification models" %}}

You can now train and deploy image classification models with the data management service and use your machine's image data directly within Viam. Additionally, you can upload and use existing machine learning models with your machines. For more information on using data synced to the cloud to train machine learning models, read train a TFlite or another model.

{{% changelog date="2023-03-31" color="added" title="Motion planning with new constraint parameter" %}}

A new parameter, constraint, has been added to the Motion service API, allowing you to define restrictions on the machine's movement. The constraint system also provides flexibility to specify that obstacles should only impact specific frames of a machine.

{{% changelog date="2023-03-31" color="added" title="Fragments in machine configuration" %}}

You can now access {{< glossary_tooltip term_id="fragment" text="fragments" >}} in your machine configuration. The configurations you added will now show up automatically in the Builder view on your machine's CONFIGURE tab. This makes it easier to monitor what fragments you've added to your machine and how they're configured.

For more information, see Fragments.

{{% changelog date="2023-03-31" color="improved" title="Sticky GPS keys" %}}

GPS keys you enter are now saved in your local storage. This ensures that when you reload the page, your GPS keys remain accessible.

{{% changelog date="2023-03-31" color="improved" title="More reliable camera streams" %}}

The camera component's streams are smoother and more reliable with recent improvements.

Additionally, camera streams automatically restart if you momentarily lose internet connection.

{{% changelog date="2023-03-31" color="improved" title="UI updates to Logs and History" %}}

The latest UI updates enable you to:

Load a previous configuration for reverting changes made in the past
Search logs by filtering keywords or log levels such as info or error messages
Change your timestamp format to ISO or Local depending on your preference.

{{% changelog date="2023-02-28" color="added" title="Rover reuse in Try Viam" %}}

You now have the option to reuse a machine config from a previous Try Viam session.

{{% changelog date="2023-02-28" color="added" title="Dynamic code samples" %}}

The Viam app Code sample tab now dynamically updates as you add resources to your machine's config. The code samples instantiate each resource and include examples of how to call a Get method on it.

{{% changelog date="2023-02-28" color="added" title="TypeScript SDK" %}}

Find more information in the TypeScript SDK docs.

{{% changelog date="2023-02-28" color="added" title="Frame system visualizer" %}}

When adding frames to your machine's config in the Viam app, you can now use the Frame System subtab of the CONFIGURE tab to more easily visualize the relative positions of frames.

{{% changelog date="2023-02-28" color="added" title="Support for microcontrollers" %}}

viam-micro-server is a lightweight version of viam-server that can run on an ESP32. Find more information in the viam-micro-server docs.

{{% changelog date="2023-01-31" color="added" title="Remote control power input" %}}

On your machine's CONTROL tab on the Viam app, you can now set the power of a base. The base control UI previously always sent 100% power to the base's motors.

{{% changelog date="2023-01-31" color="added" title="New encoder model: AMS AS5048" %}}

The AMS AS5048 is now supported.

{{% changelog date="2023-01-31" color="added" title="GetLinearAcceleration method" %}}

The movement sensor API now includes a GetLinearAcceleration method.

{{% changelog date="2023-01-31" color="added" title="Support for capsule geometry" %}}

The motion service now supports capsule geometries.

The UR5 arm model has been improved using this new geometry type.

{{% changelog date="2022-12-28" color="added" title="Modular resources" %}}

You can now implement your own custom {{< glossary_tooltip term_id="resource" text="resources" >}} as modular resources in the registry.

All users need to update to the latest version of the RDK (V3.0.0) to access machines using the Viam app.

{{% changelog date="2022-12-28" color="added" title="URDF kinematic file support" %}}

You can now supply kinematic information using URDF files when implementing your own arm models.

{{% changelog date="2022-12-28" color="added" title="New movement sensor models" %}}

There are two new movement sensor {{< glossary_tooltip term_id="model" text="models" >}}:

ADXL345: A 3-axis accelerometer
MPU-6050: A 6-axis accelerometer and gyroscope

{{% changelog date="2022-12-28" color="improved" title="Camera performance and reliability" %}}

Improved server-side logic to choose a mime type based on the camera image type, unless a specified mime type is supplied in the request. The default mime type for color cameras is now JPEG, which improves the streaming rate across every SDK.
Added discoverability when a camera reconnects without changing video paths. This now triggers the camera discovery process, where previously users would need to manually restart the RDK to reconnect to the camera.

{{% changelog date="2022-12-28" color="improved" title="Motion planning with remote components" %}}

The motion service is now agnostic to the networking topology of a machine.

Kinematic information is now transferred over the robot API. This means that the motion service is able to get kinematic information for every component on the machine, regardless of whether it is on a main or remote viam-server.
Arms are now an input to the motion service. This means that the motion service can plan for a machine that has an arm component regardless of whether the arm is connected to a main or {{< glossary_tooltip term_id="remote-part" text="remote-part" >}} instance of viam-server.

{{% changelog date="2022-12-28" color="improved" title="Motion planning path smoothing" %}}

RRT* paths now undergo rudimentary smoothing, resulting in improvements to path quality with negligible change to planning performance.
Plan manager now performs direct interpolation for any solution within some factor of the best score, instead of only in the case where the best inverse kinematics solution could be interpolated.

{{% changelog date="2022-12-28" color="improved" title="Data synchronization reliability" %}}

Previously, data synchronization used bidirectional streaming. Now is uses a simpler unary approach that is more performant on batched unary calls, is easier to load balance, and maintains ordered captures.

{{% changelog date="2022-11-28" color="changed" title="Camera configuration" %}}

Changed the configuration schemes for the following camera models:

Webcam
FFmpeg
Transform
Join pointclouds

For information on configuring any camera model, see Camera Component.

{{% changelog date="2022-11-15" color="added" title="New servo model" %}}

A new servo model called gpio supports servos connected to non-Raspberry Pi boards.

{{% changelog date="2022-11-15" color="added" title="RTT indicator in the app" %}}

A badge in the Viam app now displays RTT (round trip time) of a request from your client to the machine. Find this indicator of the time to complete one request/response cycle on your machine's CONTROL tab, in the Operations & Sessions card.

{{% changelog date="2022-11-15" color="added" title="Python 3.8 support" %}}

The Python SDK now supports Python 3.8 and newer. We suggest using Python 3.10 or newer. {{% /changelog %}}

{{% changelog date="2022-11-15" color="added" title="New parameter: extra" %}}

A new API method parameter, extra, allows you to extend {{< glossary_tooltip term_id="modular-resource" text="modular resource" >}} functionality by implementing the new field according to whatever logic you choose. extra has been added to the following APIs: arm, data management, gripper, input controller, motion, movement sensor, navigation, pose tracker, sensor, SLAM, vision.

Users of the Go SDK must update code to specify extra in the arguments that pass into each request.

extra is an optional parameter in the Python SDK.

{{% changelog date="2022-11-15" color="added" title="Service dependencies" %}}

viam-server now initializes and configures resources in the correct order. For example, if the SLAM service depends on a LiDAR, it will always initialize the LiDAR before the SLAM service.

If you are using the SLAM service, you now need to specify sensors used by the SLAM service in the depends_on field of the SLAM configuration. Other service configurations are not affected.

{{% changelog date="2022-11-15" color="removed" title="Width and height fields from camera API" %}}

Removed width and height from the response of the GetImage method in the camera API. This does not impact any existing camera models. If you write a custom camera model, you no longer need to implement the width and height fields.

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changelog.md

changelog.md

Use individual vision service instances

API calls

Color detector configurations

TFLite detector configurations

TFLite Classifier configurations

Radius Clustering 3D segmenter configurations

Detector to 3D segmenter configurations

Add and remove models using the machine config

Add machine learning vision models to a vision service

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changelog.md

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Use individual vision service instances

API calls

Color detector configurations

TFLite detector configurations

TFLite Classifier configurations

Radius Clustering 3D segmenter configurations

Detector to 3D segmenter configurations

Add and remove models using the machine config

Add machine learning vision models to a vision service