Enhance Dockerfile for interactive shell support and update logging levels; modify parameters and dependencies for improved functionality

Dockerfile

@@ -37,5 +37,16 @@ COPY --from=build /ws/install /ws/install
 COPY docker-entrypoint.sh /ros_entrypoint.sh
 RUN chmod +x /ros_entrypoint.sh
 ENV ROS_DISTRO=humble
+
+## Make ROS and workspace overlays available for interactive shells
+# This ensures `docker exec -it <container> bash` has `ros2` on PATH
+RUN echo "source /opt/ros/${ROS_DISTRO}/setup.bash || true" > /etc/profile.d/ros2.sh \
+ && echo "[ -f /ws/install/setup.bash ] && source /ws/install/setup.bash" >> /etc/profile.d/ros2.sh \
+ && chmod +x /etc/profile.d/ros2.sh
+
+# Also source in non-login interactive bash shells
+RUN echo "source /opt/ros/${ROS_DISTRO}/setup.bash || true" >> /etc/bash.bashrc \
+ && echo "[ -f /ws/install/setup.bash ] && source /ws/install/setup.bash" >> /etc/bash.bashrc
+
 ENTRYPOINT ["/ros_entrypoint.sh"]
 CMD ["image2rtsp.launch.py"]

apt-runtime.txt

@@ -8,3 +8,6 @@ python3-opencv
 libopencv-dev
 ros-humble-ros2cli
 ros-humble-rclpy
+
+net-tools
+iputils-ping

config/parameters.yaml

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
                         ( appsrc name=imagesrc do-timestamp=true min-latency=0 max-latency=0 max-bytes=1000 is-live=true !
                           videoconvert !
                           videoscale !
-                          video/x-raw, framerate=30/1, width=1920, height=1080 !
+                          video/x-raw, framerate=8/1 !
                           x264enc tune=zerolatency bitrate=500 key-int-max=30 !
                           video/x-h264, profile=baseline !
                           rtph264pay name=pay0 pt=96 )

docker-compose.yml

@@ -10,22 +10,12 @@ services:
       # Propagate host ROS environment so DDS/discovery match (set on host if needed)
       - ROS_DOMAIN_ID=${ROS_DOMAIN_ID:-0}
       - RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=${RMW_IMPLEMENTATION:-}
+      # GStreamer debug level (uncomment for verbose GStreamer logging)
+      # - GST_DEBUG=${GST_DEBUG:-}
     # Ensure the node binds to non-localhost interface (disable local_only)
     # and subscribe to the actual image topic available on the host
+
     command: ["image2rtsp.launch.py", "local_only:=false", "topic:=/camera/image"]
 
-  # Optional: add a lightweight test publisher service if you want the container
+
-  # to publish dummy images for testing (uncomment and adjust image if required).
-  # test_publisher:
-  #   image: image2rtsp:latest
-  #   network_mode: "host"
-  #   environment:
-  #     - ROS_DISTRO=humble
-  #     - ROS_DOMAIN_ID=${ROS_DOMAIN_ID:-0}
-  #     - RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=${RMW_IMPLEMENTATION:-}
-  #   command: ["/bin/bash", "-c", "python3 - <<'PY'\nimport time, rclpy\nfrom rclpy.node import Node\nfrom sensor_msgs.msg import Image\nrclpy.init()\nnode = Node('dummy_pub')\npub = node.create_publisher(Image, '/camera/image', 10)\nmsg = Image()\nmsg.width=640; msg.height=480; msg.encoding='rgb8'; msg.is_bigendian=0; msg.step=msg.width*3\nmsg.data = bytes([0])*(msg.step*msg.height)\ntry:\n  while rclpy.ok():\n    pub.publish(msg)\n    rclpy.spin_once(node, timeout_sec=0.01)\n    time.sleep(1/30)\nexcept KeyboardInterrupt:\n  pass\nrclpy.shutdown()\nPY"]
-    # Do not mount the workspace by default — the image contains the built overlay.
-    # To use a host workspace for live development, uncomment and adjust the line below:
-    # volumes:
-    #   - ./:/ws:rw
     restart: unless-stopped

include/image2rtsp.hpp

@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ class Image2rtsp : public rclcpp::Node{
 public:
     Image2rtsp();
     GstRTSPServer *rtsp_server;
+    uint framerate;
+    GstAppSrc *appsrc;
 
 private:
     string topic;
@@ -23,14 +25,12 @@ private:
     string pipeline;
     string default_pipeline;
     string camera_pipeline;
-    uint framerate;
     bool local_only;
     bool camera;
     bool compressed;
-    GstAppSrc *appsrc;
 
     void video_mainloop_start();
-    void rtsp_server_add_url(const char *url, const char *sPipeline, GstElement **appsrc);
+    void rtsp_server_add_url(const char *url, const char *sPipeline);
     void topic_callback(const sensor_msgs::msg::Image::SharedPtr msg);
     void compressed_topic_callback(const sensor_msgs::msg::CompressedImage::SharedPtr msg);
     uint extract_framerate(const std::string& pipeline, uint default_framerate);
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ private:
     rclcpp::Subscription<sensor_msgs::msg::CompressedImage>::SharedPtr subscription_compressed_;
 };
 
-static void media_configure(GstRTSPMediaFactory *factory, GstRTSPMedia *media, GstElement **appsrc);
+static void media_configure(GstRTSPMediaFactory *factory, GstRTSPMedia *media, gpointer user_data);
 static void *mainloop(void *arg);
 static gboolean session_cleanup(Image2rtsp *node, rclcpp::Logger logger, gboolean ignored);
 

launch/image2rtsp.launch.py

@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ def generate_launch_description():
          package='image2rtsp',
          executable='image2rtsp',
          name='image2rtsp',
-         parameters=[config]
+         parameters=[config],
+         # Reduce runtime logging verbosity to WARN to avoid info spam in container logs
+         arguments=['--ros-args', '--log-level', 'warn']
       )
    ])

src/image2rtsp.cpp

@@ -49,15 +49,15 @@ Image2rtsp::Image2rtsp() : Node("image2rtsp"){
     if (camera == false){
         if (compressed == false){
             subscription_ = this->create_subscription<sensor_msgs::msg::Image>(topic, 10, std::bind(&Image2rtsp::topic_callback, this, _1));
-            RCLCPP_INFO(this->get_logger(), "Subscribing to sensor_msgs::msg::Image");
+            RCLCPP_DEBUG(this->get_logger(), "Subscribing to sensor_msgs::msg::Image");
         }
         else {
             subscription_compressed_ = this->create_subscription<sensor_msgs::msg::CompressedImage>(topic, 10, std::bind(&Image2rtsp::compressed_topic_callback, this, _1));
-            RCLCPP_INFO(this->get_logger(), "Subscribing to sensor_msgs::msg::CompressedImage");
+            RCLCPP_DEBUG(this->get_logger(), "Subscribing to sensor_msgs::msg::CompressedImage");
         }
     }
     else {
-        RCLCPP_INFO(this->get_logger(), "Trying to access camera device");
+        RCLCPP_DEBUG(this->get_logger(), "Trying to access camera device");
     }
 
     // Start the RTSP server
@@ -67,9 +67,9 @@ Image2rtsp::Image2rtsp() : Node("image2rtsp"){
 
     pipeline = camera ? camera_pipeline : default_pipeline;
     framerate = extract_framerate(pipeline, 30);
-    rtsp_server_add_url(mountpoint.c_str(), pipeline.c_str(), camera ? nullptr : (GstElement **)&appsrc);
+    rtsp_server_add_url(mountpoint.c_str(), pipeline.c_str());
 
-    RCLCPP_INFO(this->get_logger(), "Stream available at rtsp://%s:%s%s", gst_rtsp_server_get_address(rtsp_server), port.c_str(), mountpoint.c_str());
+    RCLCPP_DEBUG(this->get_logger(), "Stream available at rtsp://%s:%s%s", gst_rtsp_server_get_address(rtsp_server), port.c_str(), mountpoint.c_str());
 }
 
 uint Image2rtsp::extract_framerate(const std::string& pipeline, uint default_framerate = 30) {
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ uint Image2rtsp::extract_framerate(const std::string& pipeline, uint default_fra
             RCLCPP_WARN(this->get_logger(), "Invalid framerate value %d, using default: %d", framerate, default_framerate);
             return default_framerate;
         }
-        RCLCPP_INFO(this->get_logger(), "Using set framerate %d", framerate);
+        RCLCPP_DEBUG(this->get_logger(), "Using set framerate %d", framerate);
         return framerate;
     } catch (const std::exception& e) {
         RCLCPP_WARN(this->get_logger(), "Failed to parse framerate '%s', using default: %d", framerate_str.c_str(), default_framerate);

src/video.cpp

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ GstRTSPServer *Image2rtsp::rtsp_server_create(const std::string &port, const boo
     return server;
 }
 
-void Image2rtsp::rtsp_server_add_url(const char *url, const char *sPipeline, GstElement **appsrc){
+void Image2rtsp::rtsp_server_add_url(const char *url, const char *sPipeline){
     GstRTSPMountPoints *mounts;
     GstRTSPMediaFactory *factory;
 
@@ -55,9 +55,12 @@ void Image2rtsp::rtsp_server_add_url(const char *url, const char *sPipeline, Gst
 
     /* notify when our media is ready, This is called whenever someone asks for
      * the media and a new pipeline is created */
-    g_signal_connect(factory, "media-configure", (GCallback)media_configure, appsrc);
+    // Pass `this` as user_data so media_configure can access node state and push a preroll frame
+    g_signal_connect(factory, "media-configure", (GCallback)media_configure, this);
 
-    gst_rtsp_media_factory_set_shared(factory, TRUE);
+    // Use non-shared media factory so each client gets its own pipeline
+    // This avoids prerolling a shared pipeline without available appsrc data
+    gst_rtsp_media_factory_set_shared(factory, FALSE);
 
     /* attach the factory to the url */
     gst_rtsp_mount_points_add_factory(mounts, url, factory);
@@ -66,16 +69,49 @@ void Image2rtsp::rtsp_server_add_url(const char *url, const char *sPipeline, Gst
     g_object_unref(mounts);
 }
 
-static void media_configure(GstRTSPMediaFactory *factory, GstRTSPMedia *media, GstElement **appsrc){
+static void media_configure(GstRTSPMediaFactory *factory, GstRTSPMedia *media, gpointer user_data){
-    if(appsrc){
+    Image2rtsp *node = static_cast<Image2rtsp*>(user_data);
     GstElement *pipeline = gst_rtsp_media_get_element(media);
+    GstElement *imagesrc = gst_bin_get_by_name(GST_BIN(pipeline), "imagesrc");
 
-        *appsrc = gst_bin_get_by_name(GST_BIN(pipeline), "imagesrc");
+    if (imagesrc){
+        /* store appsrc in node for later pushes */
+        node->appsrc = GST_APP_SRC(imagesrc);
 
-        /* this instructs appsrc that we will be dealing with timed buffer */
+        /* instruct appsrc that we will be dealing with timed buffers */
-        gst_util_set_object_arg(G_OBJECT(*appsrc), "format", "time");
+        gst_util_set_object_arg(G_OBJECT(node->appsrc), "format", "time");
 
+        /* mark stream-type to not require preroll and reduce buffering */
+        gst_app_src_set_stream_type(node->appsrc, GST_APP_STREAM_TYPE_STREAM);
+        gst_app_src_set_max_buffers(node->appsrc, 0);
+        gst_app_src_set_max_bytes(node->appsrc, 0);
+        gst_app_src_set_max_time(node->appsrc, 0);
+
+        /* create a minimal dummy preroll frame to satisfy pipeline preroll */
+        guint width = 2;
+        guint height = 2;
+        guint fr = node->framerate > 0 ? node->framerate : 30;
+        GstCaps *caps = gst_caps_new_simple("video/x-raw",
+                                           "format", G_TYPE_STRING, "RGB",
+                                           "width", G_TYPE_INT, width,
+                                           "height", G_TYPE_INT, height,
+                                           "framerate", GST_TYPE_FRACTION, fr, 1,
+                                           NULL);
+        gst_app_src_set_caps(node->appsrc, caps);
+
+        gsize buf_size = width * height * 3;
+        GstBuffer *buf = gst_buffer_new_allocate(NULL, buf_size, NULL);
+        GstMapInfo map;
+        if (gst_buffer_map(buf, &map, GST_MAP_WRITE)){
+            if (map.data) memset(map.data, 64, buf_size);
+            gst_buffer_unmap(buf, &map);
+        }
+        GST_BUFFER_FLAG_SET(buf, GST_BUFFER_FLAG_LIVE);
+        gst_app_src_push_buffer(node->appsrc, buf);
+
+        gst_caps_unref(caps);
         gst_object_unref(pipeline);
+        return;
     } else {
         guint i, n_streams;
         n_streams = gst_rtsp_media_n_streams(media);
@@ -149,7 +185,7 @@ static gboolean session_cleanup(Image2rtsp *node, rclcpp::Logger logger, gboolea
     {
         char s[32];
         snprintf(s, 32, (char *)"Sessions cleaned: %d", num);
-        RCLCPP_INFO(node->get_logger(), s);
+        RCLCPP_DEBUG(node->get_logger(), s);
     }
     return TRUE;
 }
@@ -159,7 +195,7 @@ void Image2rtsp::topic_callback(const sensor_msgs::msg::Image::SharedPtr msg){
     GstCaps *caps; // image properties. see return of Image2rtsp::gst_caps_new_from_image
     char *gst_type, *gst_format = (char *)"";
     if (appsrc != NULL){
-        RCLCPP_INFO(this->get_logger(), "Received image %dx%d, encoding=%s", msg->width, msg->height, msg->encoding.c_str());
+        RCLCPP_DEBUG(this->get_logger(), "Received image %dx%d, encoding=%s", msg->width, msg->height, msg->encoding.c_str());
         // Set caps from message
         caps = gst_caps_new_from_image(msg);
         gst_app_src_set_caps(appsrc, caps);