# Copyright 2025 The HuggingFace Inc. team. All rights reserved. # # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. # You may obtain a copy of the License at # # http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 # # Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software # distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and # limitations under the License. """ Example command: ```shell python src/lerobot/async_inference/robot_client.py \ --robot.type=so100_follower \ --robot.port=/dev/tty.usbmodem58760431541 \ --robot.cameras="{ front: {type: opencv, index_or_path: 0, width: 1920, height: 1080, fps: 30}}" \ --robot.id=black \ --task="dummy" \ --server_address=127.0.0.1:8080 \ --policy_type=act \ --pretrained_name_or_path=user/model \ --policy_device=mps \ --actions_per_chunk=50 \ --chunk_size_threshold=0.5 \ --aggregate_fn_name=weighted_average \ --debug_visualize_queue_size=True ``` """ import logging import pickle # nosec import threading import time from collections.abc import Callable from dataclasses import asdict from pprint import pformat from queue import Queue from typing import Any import draccus import grpc import torch from lerobot.cameras.opencv.configuration_opencv import OpenCVCameraConfig # noqa: F401 from lerobot.cameras.realsense.configuration_realsense import RealSenseCameraConfig # noqa: F401 from lerobot.robots import ( # noqa: F401 Robot, RobotConfig, bi_so100_follower, koch_follower, make_robot_from_config, so100_follower, so101_follower, ) from lerobot.transport import ( services_pb2, # type: ignore services_pb2_grpc, # type: ignore ) from lerobot.transport.utils import grpc_channel_options, send_bytes_in_chunks from .configs import RobotClientConfig from .constants import SUPPORTED_ROBOTS from .helpers import ( Action, FPSTracker, Observation, RawObservation, RemotePolicyConfig, TimedAction, TimedObservation, get_logger, map_robot_keys_to_lerobot_features, visualize_action_queue_size, ) class RobotClient: prefix = "robot_client" logger = get_logger(prefix) def __init__(self, config: RobotClientConfig): """Initialize RobotClient with unified configuration. Args: config: RobotClientConfig containing all configuration parameters """ # Store configuration self.config = config self.robot = make_robot_from_config(config.robot) self.robot.connect() lerobot_features = map_robot_keys_to_lerobot_features(self.robot) # Use environment variable if server_address is not provided in config self.server_address = config.server_address self.policy_config = RemotePolicyConfig( config.policy_type, config.pretrained_name_or_path, lerobot_features, config.actions_per_chunk, config.policy_device, ) self.channel = grpc.insecure_channel( self.server_address, grpc_channel_options(initial_backoff=f"{config.environment_dt:.4f}s") ) self.stub = services_pb2_grpc.AsyncInferenceStub(self.channel) self.logger.info(f"Initializing client to connect to server at {self.server_address}") self.shutdown_event = threading.Event() # Initialize client side variables self.latest_action_lock = threading.Lock() self.latest_action = -1 self.action_chunk_size = -1 self._chunk_size_threshold = config.chunk_size_threshold self.action_queue = Queue() self.action_queue_lock = threading.Lock() # Protect queue operations self.action_queue_size = [] self.start_barrier = threading.Barrier(2) # 2 threads: action receiver, control loop # FPS measurement self.fps_tracker = FPSTracker(target_fps=self.config.fps) self.logger.info("Robot connected and ready") # Use an event for thread-safe coordination self.must_go = threading.Event() self.must_go.set() # Initially set - observations qualify for direct processing @property def running(self): return not self.shutdown_event.is_set() def start(self): """Start the robot client and connect to the policy server""" try: # client-server handshake start_time = time.perf_counter() self.stub.Ready(services_pb2.Empty()) end_time = time.perf_counter() self.logger.debug(f"Connected to policy server in {end_time - start_time:.4f}s") # send policy instructions policy_config_bytes = pickle.dumps(self.policy_config) policy_setup = services_pb2.PolicySetup(data=policy_config_bytes) self.logger.info("Sending policy instructions to policy server") self.logger.debug( f"Policy type: {self.policy_config.policy_type} | " f"Pretrained name or path: {self.policy_config.pretrained_name_or_path} | " f"Device: {self.policy_config.device}" ) self.stub.SendPolicyInstructions(policy_setup) self.shutdown_event.clear() return True except grpc.RpcError as e: self.logger.error(f"Failed to connect to policy server: {e}") return False def stop(self): """Stop the robot client""" self.shutdown_event.set() self.robot.disconnect() self.logger.debug("Robot disconnected") self.channel.close() self.logger.debug("Client stopped, channel closed") def send_observation( self, obs: TimedObservation, ) -> bool: """Send observation to the policy server. Returns True if the observation was sent successfully, False otherwise.""" if not self.running: raise RuntimeError("Client not running. Run RobotClient.start() before sending observations.") if not isinstance(obs, TimedObservation): raise ValueError("Input observation needs to be a TimedObservation!") start_time = time.perf_counter() observation_bytes = pickle.dumps(obs) serialize_time = time.perf_counter() - start_time self.logger.debug(f"Observation serialization time: {serialize_time:.6f}s") try: observation_iterator = send_bytes_in_chunks( observation_bytes, services_pb2.Observation, log_prefix="[CLIENT] Observation", silent=True, ) _ = self.stub.SendObservations(observation_iterator) obs_timestep = obs.get_timestep() self.logger.debug(f"Sent observation #{obs_timestep} | ") return True except grpc.RpcError as e: self.logger.error(f"Error sending observation #{obs.get_timestep()}: {e}") return False def _inspect_action_queue(self): with self.action_queue_lock: queue_size = self.action_queue.qsize() timestamps = sorted([action.get_timestep() for action in self.action_queue.queue]) self.logger.debug(f"Queue size: {queue_size}, Queue contents: {timestamps}") return queue_size, timestamps def _aggregate_action_queues( self, incoming_actions: list[TimedAction], aggregate_fn: Callable[[torch.Tensor, torch.Tensor], torch.Tensor] | None = None, ): """Finds the same timestep actions in the queue and aggregates them using the aggregate_fn""" if aggregate_fn is None: # default aggregate function: take the latest action def aggregate_fn(x1, x2): return x2 future_action_queue = Queue() with self.action_queue_lock: internal_queue = self.action_queue.queue current_action_queue = {action.get_timestep(): action.get_action() for action in internal_queue} for new_action in incoming_actions: with self.latest_action_lock: latest_action = self.latest_action # New action is older than the latest action in the queue, skip it if new_action.get_timestep() <= latest_action: continue # If the new action's timestep is not in the current action queue, add it directly elif new_action.get_timestep() not in current_action_queue: future_action_queue.put(new_action) continue # If the new action's timestep is in the current action queue, aggregate it # TODO: There is probably a way to do this with broadcasting of the two action tensors future_action_queue.put( TimedAction( timestamp=new_action.get_timestamp(), timestep=new_action.get_timestep(), action=aggregate_fn( current_action_queue[new_action.get_timestep()], new_action.get_action() ), ) ) with self.action_queue_lock: self.action_queue = future_action_queue def receive_actions(self, verbose: bool = False): """Receive actions from the policy server""" # Wait at barrier for synchronized start self.start_barrier.wait() self.logger.info("Action receiving thread starting") while self.running: try: # Use StreamActions to get a stream of actions from the server actions_chunk = self.stub.GetActions(services_pb2.Empty()) if len(actions_chunk.data) == 0: continue # received `Empty` from server, wait for next call receive_time = time.time() # Deserialize bytes back into list[TimedAction] deserialize_start = time.perf_counter() timed_actions = pickle.loads(actions_chunk.data) # nosec deserialize_time = time.perf_counter() - deserialize_start self.action_chunk_size = max(self.action_chunk_size, len(timed_actions)) # Calculate network latency if we have matching observations if len(timed_actions) > 0 and verbose: with self.latest_action_lock: latest_action = self.latest_action self.logger.debug(f"Current latest action: {latest_action}") # Get queue state before changes old_size, old_timesteps = self._inspect_action_queue() if not old_timesteps: old_timesteps = [latest_action] # queue was empty # Log incoming actions incoming_timesteps = [a.get_timestep() for a in timed_actions] first_action_timestep = timed_actions[0].get_timestep() server_to_client_latency = (receive_time - timed_actions[0].get_timestamp()) * 1000 self.logger.info( f"Received action chunk for step #{first_action_timestep} | " f"Latest action: #{latest_action} | " f"Incoming actions: {incoming_timesteps[0]}:{incoming_timesteps[-1]} | " f"Network latency (server->client): {server_to_client_latency:.2f}ms | " f"Deserialization time: {deserialize_time * 1000:.2f}ms" ) # Update action queue start_time = time.perf_counter() self._aggregate_action_queues(timed_actions, self.config.aggregate_fn) queue_update_time = time.perf_counter() - start_time self.must_go.set() # after receiving actions, next empty queue triggers must-go processing! if verbose: # Get queue state after changes new_size, new_timesteps = self._inspect_action_queue() with self.latest_action_lock: latest_action = self.latest_action self.logger.info( f"Latest action: {latest_action} | " f"Old action steps: {old_timesteps[0]}:{old_timesteps[-1]} | " f"Incoming action steps: {incoming_timesteps[0]}:{incoming_timesteps[-1]} | " f"Updated action steps: {new_timesteps[0]}:{new_timesteps[-1]}" ) self.logger.debug( f"Queue update complete ({queue_update_time:.6f}s) | " f"Before: {old_size} items | " f"After: {new_size} items | " ) except grpc.RpcError as e: self.logger.error(f"Error receiving actions: {e}") def actions_available(self): """Check if there are actions available in the queue""" with self.action_queue_lock: return not self.action_queue.empty() def _action_tensor_to_action_dict(self, action_tensor: torch.Tensor) -> dict[str, float]: action = {key: action_tensor[i].item() for i, key in enumerate(self.robot.action_features)} return action def control_loop_action(self, verbose: bool = False) -> dict[str, Any]: """Reading and performing actions in local queue""" # Lock only for queue operations get_start = time.perf_counter() with self.action_queue_lock: self.action_queue_size.append(self.action_queue.qsize()) # Get action from queue timed_action = self.action_queue.get_nowait() get_end = time.perf_counter() - get_start _performed_action = self.robot.send_action( self._action_tensor_to_action_dict(timed_action.get_action()) ) with self.latest_action_lock: self.latest_action = timed_action.get_timestep() if verbose: with self.action_queue_lock: current_queue_size = self.action_queue.qsize() self.logger.debug( f"Ts={timed_action.get_timestamp()} | " f"Action #{timed_action.get_timestep()} performed | " f"Queue size: {current_queue_size}" ) self.logger.debug( f"Popping action from queue to perform took {get_end:.6f}s | Queue size: {current_queue_size}" ) return _performed_action def _ready_to_send_observation(self): """Flags when the client is ready to send an observation""" with self.action_queue_lock: return self.action_queue.qsize() / self.action_chunk_size <= self._chunk_size_threshold def control_loop_observation(self, task: str, verbose: bool = False) -> RawObservation: try: # Get serialized observation bytes from the function start_time = time.perf_counter() raw_observation: RawObservation = self.robot.get_observation() raw_observation["task"] = task with self.latest_action_lock: latest_action = self.latest_action observation = TimedObservation( timestamp=time.time(), # need time.time() to compare timestamps across client and server observation=raw_observation, timestep=max(latest_action, 0), ) obs_capture_time = time.perf_counter() - start_time # If there are no actions left in the queue, the observation must go through processing! with self.action_queue_lock: observation.must_go = self.must_go.is_set() and self.action_queue.empty() current_queue_size = self.action_queue.qsize() _ = self.send_observation(observation) self.logger.debug(f"QUEUE SIZE: {current_queue_size} (Must go: {observation.must_go})") if observation.must_go: # must-go event will be set again after receiving actions self.must_go.clear() if verbose: # Calculate comprehensive FPS metrics fps_metrics = self.fps_tracker.calculate_fps_metrics(observation.get_timestamp()) self.logger.info( f"Obs #{observation.get_timestep()} | " f"Avg FPS: {fps_metrics['avg_fps']:.2f} | " f"Target: {fps_metrics['target_fps']:.2f}" ) self.logger.debug( f"Ts={observation.get_timestamp():.6f} | Capturing observation took {obs_capture_time:.6f}s" ) return raw_observation except Exception as e: self.logger.error(f"Error in observation sender: {e}") def control_loop(self, task: str, verbose: bool = False) -> tuple[Observation, Action]: """Combined function for executing actions and streaming observations""" # Wait at barrier for synchronized start self.start_barrier.wait() self.logger.info("Control loop thread starting") _performed_action = None _captured_observation = None while self.running: control_loop_start = time.perf_counter() """Control loop: (1) Performing actions, when available""" if self.actions_available(): _performed_action = self.control_loop_action(verbose) """Control loop: (2) Streaming observations to the remote policy server""" if self._ready_to_send_observation(): _captured_observation = self.control_loop_observation(task, verbose) self.logger.debug(f"Control loop (ms): {(time.perf_counter() - control_loop_start) * 1000:.2f}") # Dynamically adjust sleep time to maintain the desired control frequency time.sleep(max(0, self.config.environment_dt - (time.perf_counter() - control_loop_start))) return _captured_observation, _performed_action @draccus.wrap() def async_client(cfg: RobotClientConfig): logging.info(pformat(asdict(cfg))) if cfg.robot.type not in SUPPORTED_ROBOTS: raise ValueError(f"Robot {cfg.robot.type} not yet supported!") client = RobotClient(cfg) if client.start(): client.logger.info("Starting action receiver thread...") # Create and start action receiver thread action_receiver_thread = threading.Thread(target=client.receive_actions, daemon=True) # Start action receiver thread action_receiver_thread.start() try: # The main thread runs the control loop client.control_loop(task=cfg.task) finally: client.stop() action_receiver_thread.join() if cfg.debug_visualize_queue_size: visualize_action_queue_size(client.action_queue_size) client.logger.info("Client stopped") if __name__ == "__main__": async_client() # run the client