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Robotair Deployments⿻

Estimated time to read: 2 minutes

Concept Overview⿻

A Deployment in Robotair represents a production-ready runtime definition for your robot’s software. It packages together containerized applications, configurations, and orchestration instructions in a standardized format ready to be delivered to one or many robots in the field.

Robotair uses OCI-compliant Docker Compose files to define deployments. These files are compatible with both Docker and Podman runtimes on the robot and serve as the execution plan for the Robotair Agent.

Deployment Methods⿻

Robotair supports three flexible options for defining deployments:

  1. Upload Compose File: If you already have a working Docker Compose file, you can directly upload it to Robotair.
  2. Upload a Bundle: Package your compose file together with environment files, configuration templates, and directory mounts. This is ideal for complex systems with external dependencies.
  3. Assisted Deployment (No YAML Needed): Use Robotair’s guided interface to define your deployment without writing any YAML. Just describe what should run and how it will generate the compose file for you.

This makes Robotair suitable for both experienced DevOps teams and robotics developers new to container orchestration.

Runtime Compatibility⿻

  • Container Engines: Docker or Podman (configurable per robot)
  • Orchestration Format: Docker Compose v2
  • Artifact Format: OCI-compliant, portable, and reproducible

Role in the Platform⿻

Deployments are the final output of your build and testing pipelines. They are delivered by Robotair Agents and serve as the runtime environment for the software running on your robot. They are:

  • Created from signed build artifacts
  • Linked to secrets for private image access
  • Assigned to individual robots or entire fleets
  • Monitored and versioned across lifecycle events

Deployment Architecture⿻

flowchart TB
    subgraph Robotair Platform
        Build["Build Artifact"]
        Compose["Deployment Compose File"]
        Secrets["Secrets"]
        Deployment["Robotair Deployment"]
    end

    Build --> Compose
    Compose --> Deployment
    Secrets --> Deployment
    Deployment -->|"OTA Update"| Agent["Robotair Agent"]
    Agent --> Runtime["Robot Runtime"]