Visualization

There are several approaches to visualizing information in Viam. For things like motion, frames, robot state, collisions, and live perception data, you can 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: component frames from the frame system, configured geometries, depth-camera point clouds, and custom visuals a module publishes at runtime.

• 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.

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.

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.

• 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.

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.