ZED X + ROS2 Jazzy + Docker on Jetson AGX Orin — Recommended Setup?

Software
1

Hi everyone,

I am trying to set up a ZED X camera with ROS2 Jazzy inside Docker on a Jetson AGX Orin, and I would like to understand the recommended architecture and compatibility path before moving further.

Current HOST (Hardware / Software Setup)

  • Jetson AGX Orin 64GB

  • ZED X

  • Ubuntu 20.04

  • JetPack 5.1.2

  • L4T R35.4

Goal

  • ROS2 Jazzy

  • zed-ros2-wrapper

  • running fully inside Docker

  • using the ZED X camera successfully from within the container

Questions

1. Is JetPack 5.1.2 compatible with ROS2 Jazzy for this workflow?

note: newer jetpack 7.x has ubuntu 24.0 base is for Jetson Thor not Orin AGX, and 6.x has ubuntu 22.0 base.

note: latest jetpack support for AGX Orin JetPack 6.2.2

2. Does ZED X require the ZED SDK installed on the host?

OR Can I rely only on the official ZED SDK Docker image:

docker pull stereolabs/zed:5.2-devel-jetson-jp5.1.2

3. Recommended Docker architecture for Jazzy?

2

Hi @usef,

I’ll share my experience. In short, I would download the latest supported image from NVIDIA or Canonical (Canonical has had Ubuntu for Jetson since last year) and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. This requires:

  1. Installing CUDA (Canonical image only; Jetpack has CUDA installed)
  2. Installing the ZED SDK
  3. Installing the ROS package according to the instructions
    Instructions: GitHub - stereolabs/zed-ros2-wrapper: ROS 2 wrapper for the ZED SDK · GitHub

For now, however, I’d settle for Ros2 Humble, as the latest image for your Jetson is based on Ubuntu 22.04, i.e., Jetson.

According to the roadmap, it should be available in a few months for Ubuntu 24.04; then switching to Jazzy will be much easier. Jetson Roadmap | NVIDIA Developer

Regarding Docker: I did this about two years ago, and I remember it took weeks to create a working image. I don’t know what’s changed since then with Docker for Jetson, but I expect this path is still several times more complicated and longer than the system build.