Getting Started

Get your robot connected to The Platform in a few minutes. We support ROS2 and VIAM robots with one-line installers.

Create an Account

Get Your API Key

Go to your Profile page and copy your API key. You'll need it in the next step.

Install the Driver

Pick the installer for your robot platform and run it on your robot:

ROS2 Robots

For robots running ROS2 Humble, Iron, or newer:

bash <(curl -sSL https://platform.burf.co/install/ros2) click to copy

VIAM Robots

For robots managed via the VIAM platform:

bash <(curl -sSL https://platform.burf.co/install/viam) click to copy

Both installers walk you through everything interactively:

Robot ID Asks you to pick a unique ID for your robot

Connection ROS2 topics or VIAM component names (with sensible defaults)

API Key Asks for the API key from your profile

Dependencies Installs the SDK and optionally opencv + aiortc for WebRTC video

Auto-start Optionally creates a systemd service to start on boot

See Your Robot in the Dashboard

Open your dashboard - your robot will appear as soon as the driver connects. Click on it to get live video, joystick control, and sensor monitoring.

That's it - your robot is now remotely accessible from anywhere in the world.

Reference: ROS2 Topics

The driver bridges these standard ROS2 topics to the platform:

Direction	Default Topic	Message Type	Description
Subscribes	`/camera/image_raw`	sensor_msgs/Image	Camera feed (streamed via WebRTC)
Subscribes	`/odom`	nav_msgs/Odometry	Wheel odometry
Subscribes	`/imu/data`	sensor_msgs/Imu	IMU orientation and acceleration
Subscribes	`/scan`	sensor_msgs/LaserScan	LiDAR data (downsampled)
Publishes	`/cmd_vel`	geometry_msgs/Twist	Movement commands from the web UI

All topic names are configurable. The installer asks you for each one. You can also change them later in config/burf_driver.yaml.

Show config file example...

                    # config/burf_driver.yaml

                    server_url: "wss://platform.burf.co/ws/robot"

                    robot_id: "my-rover-01"

                    api_key: "paste-your-api-key-here"

                    # ROS2 topics (adjust to match your robot)

                    camera_topic: "/camera/image_raw"

                    odom_topic: "/odom"

                    imu_topic: "/imu/data"

                    cmd_vel_topic: "/cmd_vel"

                    scan_topic: "/scan"

                    # Performance tuning

                    telemetry_rate: 5.0  # Hz

                    video_fps: 10

What's Next?

REST API - Build custom integrations using your API key with Authorization: Bearer <your-key>

Sanbot ELF / Afobot / iPal - Got a Sanbot ELF, QNAP Afobot, or iPal? Follow the BRemote setup guide

Other Robots - We also support Double 2, InMoov, and VIAM rovers

FAQ - Common questions about video latency, security, and custom robots