Stream Live Depth Video

SUMMARY

Stream Live Depth Video acquires continuous depth frames in a loop, returning each frame as a NumPy array of float values in metres. Pair with a Rerun DepthImage colour map for a live false-colour visualisation of distance over time.

Available on: Intel RealSense.

The Skill

depth_image = camera.capture_video_depth_frame()

Call repeatedly inside a loop. The depth stream stays running continuously between calls.

Example

The Code

"""
Stream live depth video from a RealSense camera with a turbo colour map.

Run from a terminal to avoid issues with Rerun's spawn mode.
"""
import time
from loguru import logger

import rerun as rr

from telekinesis.medulla.cameras import realsense


def main():
    camera = realsense.RealSense(name="my_realsense_camera")
    try:
        rr.init("RealSense_Video_Example", spawn=True)
        camera.connect()

        end_time = time.time() + 10
        while time.time() < end_time:
            depth_image = camera.capture_video_depth_frame()
            rr.log(
                "Continuous_Depth_Image_Capture",
                rr.DepthImage(
                    depth_image,
                    meter=1.0,                # values are already in metres
                    colormap="turbo",
                    depth_range=(0.0, 3.0),   # 0–3 metres
                ),
            )
    except Exception as e:
        logger.error(f"Unable to stream video. {type(e).__name__}: {e}")
    finally:
        camera.disconnect()


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Running the Example

python capture_depth_video_example.py

A Rerun viewer opens automatically. Depth frames stream under Continuous_Depth_Image_Capture for 10 seconds with the turbo colour map applied, then the camera disconnects cleanly.

Parameter Configuration

capture_video_depth_frame() takes no parameters. Stream resolution and frame rate are configured separately via connect, e.g. camera.connect(width=640, height=480, fps=30).

Returns

Type	Description
np.ndarray	Depth image aligned to the colour sensor, shape (H, W), dtype float32, values in metres. Pixels with no valid depth reading are 0.0.
None	Returned if a frame could not be retrieved for that call.

Raises

Exception	Condition
RuntimeError	The camera is not connected (the RealSense pipeline has not been started).

Where to Use the Skill

• Live distance monitoring — observe how depth changes as the scene or robot moves.
• Calibration sanity checks — verify the depth pipeline is producing valid frames continuously.
• Mixed-mode pipelines — combine with stream_live_color_video when both colour and depth feeds are needed.