3.6.3 Other remote approaches
Bundled viewer covers most robotics GUI needs. Pursue natives only if chasing lower latency.
Comparison
| Approach | Upside | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Studio baked viewer | Zero extra tooling, deepest integration | Very high FPS may jitter |
| Native VNC | Potentially smoother | Extra client tuning |
| xrdp (RDP stack) | Mature polish | ARM image quirks |
| SSH X11 forward | Forward lone apps, not whole desktop | Not full session compositor |
When each fits
Studio remote desktop (default)
rviz, camera feeds, generic GUI validation — built‑in path wins.
Native VNC
Long sessions where micro‑stutter matters. Examples:
- macOS (Apple Silicon): built‑in Screen Sharing
- Windows: RealVNC Viewer, TigerVNC Viewer
You own networking + hardening — advanced users.
xrdp
Only if image plays nice and you want RDP semantics:
- Board:
sudo apt install xrdp - Configure users + session type
- Client: Windows Remote Desktop Connection; macOS (Apple Silicon) Microsoft Remote Desktop
ARM xrdp hit‑or‑miss — pilot before fleet roll.
SSH X11 forwarding
Single GUI binary without whole desktop:
ssh -X root@<device-ip>
# Run GUI inside SSH
rviz2
The GUI window appears on your PC desktop. Performance depends on how heavy the app is, but the PC must run an X server (on macOS Apple Silicon use XQuartz).
Quick pick
| Need | Pick |
|---|---|
| Standard robotics desktop | Studio viewer |
| Long watch / smoother | Native VNC or xrdp |
| Isolated GUI windows | SSH X11 |