Looking for a good outdoor camera for ROS2 robot without ribbon cables

[PatrolForce]

Hi ROS2 community,

I’m building an outdoor autonomous robot and I’m looking for a high-quality camera that is fully compatible with ROS2 and does NOT use ribbon (flat) cables or other fragile connectors.

My priorities are:
• Robust connectivity (e.g., USB or other mechanical connector, no CSI ribbon cables)
• Works well outdoors (good image quality / low light performance)
• Compatible with Raspberry Pi 5 now, and ideally future‑proof for NVIDIA Jetson platforms
• Easy to integrate with ROS2

Could anyone recommend specific camera models or setups that fit these requirements?

Thanks in advance I am very new with Ros2!

[peci1]

@PatrolForce

Robust connectivity (e.g., USB

Hahaha Outdoor and USB and vibrations don’t talk well to each other…

Go for a GigE camera. We use Basler ace acA1920-50gc | GigE Camera | Basler AG and they work very reliably (don’t forget to also buy a lens ). ROS 2 driver is available: GitHub - basler/pylon-ros-camera: The official pylon ROS driver for Basler GigE Vision and USB3 Vision cameras: · GitHub .

[PatrolForce]

Thanks! I will take a look after I finish fighting with the battery . I see is a little expensive for me as a beginner, maybe something cheaper?

[peci1]

@PatrolForce

high-quality camera

@PatrolForce

Robust connectivity

@PatrolForce

Works well outdoors (good image quality / low light performance)

These are not requirements for a cheap camera

But yeah, most GigE cameras are intended for industrial use, so the price level is a bit higher.

Then you can try playing with some OAK-D cameras like OAK-D S2 . They have USB connectors with screws (Realsenses have them too). The screws are what makes USB at least have a chance in the wild (if you use the cable with screws, of course and if you have a way to screw the other end to your PC). If you later still find USB too unreliable, you can try switching to some of the PoE versions of the cameras. However, then you need to find 50 V somewhere on your robot…

[cramke]

@PatrolForce

Hi ROS2 community,

I’m building an outdoor autonomous robot and I’m looking for a high-quality camera that is fully compatible with ROS2 and does NOT use ribbon (flat) cables or other fragile connectors.

My priorities are:
• Robust connectivity (e.g., USB or other mechanical connector, no CSI ribbon cables)
• Works well outdoors (good image quality / low light performance)
• Compatible with Raspberry Pi 5 now, and ideally future‑proof for NVIDIA Jetson platforms
• Easy to integrate with ROS2

Could anyone recommend specific camera models or setups that fit these requirements?

Thanks in advance I am very new with Ros2!

You can have a look at Stereolabs. They offer Stereo and Mono Cameras with either USB or GMSL. On the Raspberry they will not have their full potential (e.g. no GMSL, no SDK support) but they will work as standard UVC cameras. On the Jetson you can use the more rugged GMSL version and use their SDK if you want to look into their mapping and localization features.