ZED Wrapper publishes misaligned camera TF frames in `sim_mode`

Software
1

I am integrating a simulated ZED X inside Isaac Sim 5.1.0 using the ZED ROS 2 Wrapper on ROS 2 Jazzy.
I am experiencing an issue where the TF tree published by the wrapper does not align with the physical robot model in the simulation.

Environment

Component Version
Simulator Isaac Sim 5.1.0
ROS 2 Jazzy
ZED ROS 2 Wrapper Latest Jazzy branch
Camera model ZED X

Launch command

ros2 launch zed_wrapper zed_camera.launch.py \
  camera_model:=zedx \
  sim_mode:=true \
  use_sim_time:=true

Description

When running the ZED ROS 2 Wrapper in sim_mode, the wrapper publishes its own camera TF subtree even when both pos_tracking.publish_tf and pos_tracking.publish_map_tf are set to false.

Both trees share the odom frame as a common root, so they are technically connected. However, the wrapper introduces its own frames (zed_camera_link, zed_camera_center, and all optical frames) that were never defined in Isaac Sim. The only camera prims added to the stage are ZED_X and ZED_X_01, both parented to base_link.

The result is a combined tree with two separate camera subtrees:

  • Isaac Sim camera frames: odom → base_link → ZED_X / ZED_X_01
  • Wrapper-injected frames: odom → zed_camera_link → zed_camera_center → zed_left_camera_frame / zed_right_camera_frame

Because the wrapper’s zed_camera_center is not parented to base_link or to the simulator’s ZED_X prim, it appears spatially floating far above the robot in RViz — completely misaligned from the actual camera position in the simulation.

Expected behaviour

With sim_mode:=true and publish_tf: false, the wrapper should not publish any camera TF frames. The full TF tree should be managed by the simulator, and the wrapper should only consume /tf to look up the camera pose rather than broadcasting its own.

Actual behaviour

The wrapper still broadcasts zed_camera_link, zed_camera_center, and all child optical frames regardless of the publish_tf setting. The pos_tracking TF flags appear to have no effect in sim mode.

RViz : zed_camera_center floating above the robot

In RViz, the wrapper’s zed_camera_center frame appears far above the robot body (see screenshot). This also causes the registered point cloud topic (/zed/zed_node/point_cloud/cloud_registered) to report a Status: Error because the transform chain from the point cloud frame to the fixed frame is broken.

TF trees

Isaac Sim only (before launching wrapper):
odom → base_link → ZED_X → chassis_link → [wheel/sensor links]

After launching wrapper:
The wrapper injects an additional subtree under odom:
odom → zed_camera_link → zed_camera_center → zed_left_camera_frame / zed_right_camera_frame

Both subtrees are reachable from odom, but the wrapper’s camera frames are not anchored to base_link and are spatially incorrect.

Questions

  1. Is it expected that the wrapper always publishes zed_camera_center and its child frames in sim_mode, even when publish_tf: false?
  2. If yes, what is the recommended way to ensure the wrapper’s internal frames (zed_camera_center, optical frames) are correctly anchored to the simulator’s camera prim (ZED_X) so that they are spatially consistent?
  3. Is there a parameter to tell the wrapper to use an existing TF frame (e.g. ZED_X) as its camera root instead of publishing a new zed_camera_link?

Relevant config

pos_tracking:
  publish_tf: false
  publish_map_tf: false

Screenshots attached

2

Hi @MeediB
Welcome to the StereoLabs community.

I recommend you read the ROS 2 Robot Integration guide.