Multi-environment (vectorized) RL training with RayCaster prim path binding issue and support for custom 16-ray LiDAR-like sensors in Isaac Lab

Omniverse Isaac Sim
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Isaac Sim Version

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2023.1.1
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GPU Information

  • Model: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
    Driver Version: 580.95.05
    CUDA Version: 13.0

Topic Description

Multi-environment (vectorized) RL training with RayCaster prim path binding issue and support for custom 16-ray LiDAR-like sensors in Isaac Lab.

Detailed Description

I am using Isaac Lab to train reinforcement learning policies for robotic agents with multiple parallel environments (vectorized envs). During setup:

  • I attempted to add RayCaster sensors for each robot instance in parallel environments (e.g., /World/envs/env_0/..., /World/envs/env_1/..., etc.).

  • RayCaster fails to bind correct prim paths across multiple environments, making it unusable for multi-env RL setups.

  • I also want to confirm if Isaac Lab supports custom LiDAR configuration — specifically simple fixed 16-ray scans (similar to VLP-16) — for use as observations in RL training.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Create multiple environments under /World/envs/env_0, /World/envs/env_1, … via vectorized environment API.

  2. Attach RayCaster sensors to each robot instance with prim paths referencing dynamic env indices.

  3. Attempt to run training loop or environment reset/step.

  4. Observe sensor initialization outcome.

(Add more steps as needed)

Error Messages

Currently RayCaster fails silently or throws binding exceptions when trying to resolve prim paths across vectorized envs (e.g., sensor path cannot be found / cannot attach).

Screenshots or Videos

(If applicable, add screenshots or links to videos that demonstrate the issue)

Additional Information

What I’ve Tried

  1. Ensuring that prim paths are dynamically updated per environment instance.
  2. Tried static sensor attachments only to a single env (works).
  3. Checked available documentation for multi-env sensor binding.
  4. Attempted alternative prim path construction patterns (e.g., string templates with indices).

Related Issues

(If you’re aware of any related issues or forum posts, please link them here)

Additional Context

  1. Does Isaac Lab officially support RayCaster sensors in multi-environment (vectorized) scenarios?
  2. If supported, what is the correct pattern for specifying sensor prim paths dynamically per environment instance?
  3. If not supported, is there a known limitation or recommended workaround?
  4. Can Isaac Lab support a custom LiDAR-like configuration (e.g., 16 fixed rays) easily accessible in observations?

    • Are there examples or best practices?

    • How does RayCaster compare with PhysX LiDAR or RTX LiDAR in multi-env RL workflows from a performance and usability perspective?

2

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