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Publish to NetworkTables

PublishToNetworktables publishes an upstream value to a native NetworkTables primitive or WPILib struct topic, then passes the original input downstream.

Inputs​

data may be a primitive, primitive array, supported pose dictionary, 4 by 4 NumPy pose matrix, or a sequence of supported values. data_path can select a nested value first.

Outputs​

The unchanged data. Unsupported, missing, None, and empty-array selections are not published.

When to use​

Use this when the robot needs a pipeline result through NetworkTables. Choose an explicit schema when automatic conversion is ambiguous.

Configuration​

  • target_key: Required topic key.
  • schema: Conversion hint, default auto. Supported hints are double, float, number, boolean, bool, string, double_array, float_array, number_array, pose2d, pose3d, transform2d, transform3d, translation2d, translation3d, rotation2d, and rotation3d.
  • data_path: Optional keys or indices, supplied as a dotted string or list. One field name on a sequence extracts that field from matching dictionaries.

Timestamp behavior​

Timed values publish with their capture_nt_us NetworkTables timestamp. Nested selection preserves that timing. Untimed values use publish time. Robot-side pose estimators need capture time rather than later processing time.

The first publish fixes the topic type. Changing target_key creates a new publisher. Changing schema alone does not recreate one already in use.