Skip to main content
Booster Docs

Virtual Robot Audio & Video Capture

Overview​

The Audio & Video capture feature connects your computer's camera, microphone, and speaker to virtual robots, enabling them to receive real vision and hearing input and output speech.

Use cases: Robot interaction with real environments, voice conversations, vision perception algorithm testing.

Prerequisites​

  • Device requirements: Computer has an available camera, microphone, and speaker (built-in or external)
  • System permissions: Camera and microphone access must be allowed on first use

How to Use​

  1. Open Audio & Video Settings

Click the audio & video icon in the right sidebar to open the Audio & Video Settings panel.

image.png

  1. Enable Devices

In the settings panel, enable the devices you need:

  • Camera input: Streams camera feed to robots, shows live preview and device selection
  • Microphone input: Streams audio to robots, shows real-time volume and device selection
  • Speaker output: Plays robot speech on speaker, allows device selection

After toggling on, devices will connect to the virtual environment. All robots will receive the corresponding audio/video inputs or play the corresponding speech output.

image.png

  1. Monitor Real-Time Status

The status label above each robot shows three possible states:

  • Microphone input switch is on: The robot can receive voice input from the microphone

    image.png

  • Speaker output switch is on: You can hear the robot's voice output through the speaker

    image.png

  • Both microphone and speaker output switches are on: The robot can receive voice input and you can hear its voice output

    image.png

  1. View Camera Feed

Once the camera is enabled, add an Image component in the Control Panel and select the /camera_data topic to view the camera feed.

image.png

FAQ​

Why doesn't it work after toggling on?​

Please check:

  • Has the system granted camera/microphone permissions? If denied initially, manually allow in system privacy settings
  • Is the virtual environment still running? If stopped, audio/video transmission will disconnect

What if it says "Audio & video relay disconnected — reconnecting…"?​

The system will automatically attempt to reconnect. If it keeps failing, check:

  • Is the virtual environment still running? Stopping or restarting will interrupt transmission
  • Is the network connection stable?

If auto-reconnect fails, click the Reconnect button to manually trigger reconnection, or toggle the device switch off and on.