Visualization

A machine produces two kinds of data you can watch: spatial state (frames, geometries, collisions, point clouds, motion plans) and time series readings (temperatures, speeds, counts). For spatial state, use the 3D scene view in the Viam app, or Viam Visualization, a standalone visualizer you run yourself. You can also read this data from components with a Viam SDK and present it in a custom user interface you build, which runs in a browser, on a phone, or on a server. For time series data, services and modules push readings to the cloud, where the Viam app’s Teleop workspaces and dashboards show live information across a machine or fleet.

The 3D scene

The 3D SCENE tab on your machine’s page renders an interactive 3D view of your machine and the spatial data around it. For what it draws and where each element comes from, see Visualizing with the 3D scene.

  • Use it while configuring or debugging a machine, to see frames, geometry, and live poses with no code.
  • Best for catching frame and obstacle misconfigurations and inspecting a motion plan in context. It runs right in the Viam app, ready to use.
3D scene

What the 3D scene renders, where each element comes from, and how built-in configuration content differs from custom visuals a module publishes at runtime.

Visuals and collisions

How a Transform defines a custom visual, and which geometry the motion planner actually collision-checks.

Publish visuals from a module

Implement a world state store service that pulls data from other resources, builds transforms with the draw library, and streams them to the 3D scene.

Visualize a motion plan

Publish a motion plan's trajectory and goals as custom visuals so the 3D scene renders the path against obstacles and reach.

Troubleshoot the 3D scene

Trace a wrong or missing element in the 3D scene to its source: the machine configuration, a module, or the connection.

Viam Visualization

Viam Visualization is a standalone 3D visualizer you run yourself to preview and debug spatial data from a Go client. It shares the same draw library as the in-app 3D scene, so the visuals you build work either way.

  • Use it while developing, to preview spatial data such as a point cloud, detections, or a planned path straight from a script or test.
  • Best when you want to iterate from Go quickly, without deploying a module or opening the Viam app.
Viam Visualization

Run the standalone Viam Visualization app locally and push geometries, point clouds, and frame systems to it from a Go client.

Custom apps

A custom app uses a Viam SDK to read your machine’s data and present it however you design. It runs outside the machine, in a browser, on a phone, or on a server, so you can build a custom dashboard, an operator console, or a fleet view. A Svelte app can also embed the 3D scene’s own renderer as a component, so a custom UI gets the full 3D view alongside your own controls.

  • Use it when operators or stakeholders need a tailored UI beyond the built-in scene.
  • Best when you want to choose exactly which data to show and how, for one machine or a whole fleet.
Overview

Build software that uses a Viam SDK to talk to your machines and the Viam cloud, from web dashboards to long-running backend services.

Tutorial: single-machine dashboard

Build a TypeScript web dashboard for a single Viam machine. Displays a camera feed, a live sensor reading, and a motor control button, with a connection status indicator.

Tutorial: multi-machine fleet dashboard

Build a TypeScript web dashboard that connects to the Viam cloud, enumerates machines across an organization, and displays aggregated sensor data from a fleet.

Tutorial: Flutter app with widgets

Build a cross-platform Flutter app for a single Viam machine. Uses prebuilt widgets for the camera feed, sensor display, and motor control.

Tutorial: Python monitoring service

Build a Python service that connects to a Viam machine, monitors a sensor, controls a motor based on sensor readings, and shuts down cleanly.

Time series data

Services and modules push readings to the cloud, where you watch them live with Viam’s Teleop workspaces and dashboards.

  • Use it for values that change over time: temperatures, speeds, counts, and sensor readings.
  • Best for live monitoring and historical trends across a single machine or a whole fleet.
Teleop workspaces

Build custom operator interfaces with camera feeds, sensor readouts, and component controls.

Overview

Understand dashboard widget types, the windowing and aggregation query model, and how dashboards differ from teleop workspaces.