diff --git a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/include/seerep-hdf5-fb/hdf5-fb-general.h b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/include/seerep-hdf5-fb/hdf5-fb-general.h
index 8f2a02442..94f5d6bfb 100644
--- a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/include/seerep-hdf5-fb/hdf5-fb-general.h
+++ b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/include/seerep-hdf5-fb/hdf5-fb-general.h
@@ -37,13 +37,13 @@ class Hdf5FbGeneral : public seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral
   // Attributes
   //################
   void writeAttributeMap(const std::shared_ptr<HighFive::DataSet> dataSetPtr,
-                         const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::UnionMapEntry>>& attributes);
+                         const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::UnionMapEntry>>* attributes);
   template <class T>
   flatbuffers::Offset<flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::UnionMapEntry>>>
   readAttributeMap(HighFive::AnnotateTraits<T>& object, flatbuffers::grpc::MessageBuilder& builder);
 
   template <class T>
-  void writeHeaderAttributes(HighFive::AnnotateTraits<T>& object, const seerep::fb::Header& header);
+  void writeHeaderAttributes(HighFive::AnnotateTraits<T>& object, const seerep::fb::Header* header);
 
   template <class T>
   flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::Header> readHeaderAttributes(flatbuffers::grpc::MessageBuilder& builder,
@@ -55,17 +55,17 @@ class Hdf5FbGeneral : public seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral
   //################
   void writeBoundingBoxLabeled(
       const std::string& datatypeGroup, const std::string& uuid,
-      const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::BoundingBoxLabeled>>& boundingboxLabeled);
+      const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::BoundingBoxLabeled>>* boundingboxLabeled);
 
   void writeBoundingBox2DLabeled(
       const std::string& datatypeGroup, const std::string& uuid,
-      const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::BoundingBox2DLabeled>>& boundingbox2DLabeled);
+      const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::BoundingBox2DLabeled>>* boundingbox2DLabeled);
 
   //################
   // Labels General
   //################
   void writeLabelsGeneral(const std::string& datatypeGroup, const std::string& uuid,
-                          const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::LabelWithInstance>>& labelsGeneral);
+                          const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::LabelWithInstance>>* labelsGeneral);
 };
 
 }  // namespace seerep_hdf5_fb
diff --git a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/include/seerep-hdf5-fb/impl/hdf5-fb-general.hpp b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/include/seerep-hdf5-fb/impl/hdf5-fb-general.hpp
index e64587589..7476f6a2e 100644
--- a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/include/seerep-hdf5-fb/impl/hdf5-fb-general.hpp
+++ b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/include/seerep-hdf5-fb/impl/hdf5-fb-general.hpp
@@ -35,27 +35,30 @@ Hdf5FbGeneral::readAttributeMap(HighFive::AnnotateTraits<T>& object, flatbuffers
 }
 
 template <class T>
-void Hdf5FbGeneral::writeHeaderAttributes(HighFive::AnnotateTraits<T>& object, const seerep::fb::Header& header)
+void Hdf5FbGeneral::writeHeaderAttributes(HighFive::AnnotateTraits<T>& object, const seerep::fb::Header* header)
 {
-  if (!object.hasAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_SECONDS))
-    object.createAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_SECONDS, header.stamp()->seconds());
-  else
-    object.getAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_SECONDS).write(header.stamp()->seconds());
-
-  if (!object.hasAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_NANOS))
-    object.createAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_NANOS, header.stamp()->nanos());
-  else
-    object.getAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_NANOS).write(header.stamp()->nanos());
-
-  if (!object.hasAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_FRAME_ID))
-    object.createAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_FRAME_ID, header.frame_id()->str());
-  else
-    object.getAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_FRAME_ID).write(header.frame_id()->str());
-
-  if (!object.hasAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_SEQ))
-    object.createAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_SEQ, header.seq());
-  else
-    object.getAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_SEQ).write(header.seq());
+  if (header)
+  {
+    if (!object.hasAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_SECONDS))
+      object.createAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_SECONDS, header->stamp()->seconds());
+    else
+      object.getAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_SECONDS).write(header->stamp()->seconds());
+
+    if (!object.hasAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_NANOS))
+      object.createAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_NANOS, header->stamp()->nanos());
+    else
+      object.getAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_STAMP_NANOS).write(header->stamp()->nanos());
+
+    if (!object.hasAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_FRAME_ID))
+      object.createAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_FRAME_ID, header->frame_id()->str());
+    else
+      object.getAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_FRAME_ID).write(header->frame_id()->str());
+
+    if (!object.hasAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_SEQ))
+      object.createAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_SEQ, header->seq());
+    else
+      object.getAttribute(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreGeneral::HEADER_SEQ).write(header->seq());
+  }
 }
 
 template <class T>
diff --git a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-general.cpp b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-general.cpp
index 25e37271b..76552a642 100644
--- a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-general.cpp
+++ b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-general.cpp
@@ -11,53 +11,56 @@ Hdf5FbGeneral::Hdf5FbGeneral(std::shared_ptr<HighFive::File>& file, std::shared_
 
 void Hdf5FbGeneral::writeAttributeMap(
     const std::shared_ptr<HighFive::DataSet> dataSetPtr,
-    const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::UnionMapEntry>>& attributes)
+    const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::UnionMapEntry>>* attributes)
 {
-  for (auto attribute : attributes)
+  if (attributes)
   {
-    if (attribute->value_type() == seerep::fb::Datatypes_Boolean)
+    for (auto attribute : *attributes)
     {
-      writeAttributeToHdf5(*dataSetPtr, attribute->key()->str(),
-                           static_cast<const seerep::fb::Boolean*>(attribute->value())->data());
-    }
-    else if (attribute->value_type() == seerep::fb::Datatypes_Integer)
-    {
-      writeAttributeToHdf5(*dataSetPtr, attribute->key()->str(),
-                           static_cast<const seerep::fb::Integer*>(attribute->value())->data());
-    }
-    else if (attribute->value_type() == seerep::fb::Datatypes_Double)
-    {
-      writeAttributeToHdf5(*dataSetPtr, attribute->key()->str(),
-                           static_cast<const seerep::fb::Double*>(attribute->value())->data());
-    }
-    else if (attribute->value_type() == seerep::fb::Datatypes_String)
-    {
-      writeAttributeToHdf5(*dataSetPtr, attribute->key()->str(),
-                           static_cast<const seerep::fb::String*>(attribute->value())->data()->str());
-    }
-    else
-    {
-      std::stringstream errorMsg;
-      errorMsg << "type " << attribute->value_type() << " of attribute " << attribute->key()->c_str()
-               << " not implemented in hdf5-io.";
-      BOOST_LOG_SEV(m_logger, boost::log::trivial::severity_level::error) << errorMsg.str();
-      throw std::invalid_argument(errorMsg.str());
+      if (attribute->value_type() == seerep::fb::Datatypes_Boolean)
+      {
+        writeAttributeToHdf5(*dataSetPtr, attribute->key()->str(),
+                             static_cast<const seerep::fb::Boolean*>(attribute->value())->data());
+      }
+      else if (attribute->value_type() == seerep::fb::Datatypes_Integer)
+      {
+        writeAttributeToHdf5(*dataSetPtr, attribute->key()->str(),
+                             static_cast<const seerep::fb::Integer*>(attribute->value())->data());
+      }
+      else if (attribute->value_type() == seerep::fb::Datatypes_Double)
+      {
+        writeAttributeToHdf5(*dataSetPtr, attribute->key()->str(),
+                             static_cast<const seerep::fb::Double*>(attribute->value())->data());
+      }
+      else if (attribute->value_type() == seerep::fb::Datatypes_String)
+      {
+        writeAttributeToHdf5(*dataSetPtr, attribute->key()->str(),
+                             static_cast<const seerep::fb::String*>(attribute->value())->data()->str());
+      }
+      else
+      {
+        std::stringstream errorMsg;
+        errorMsg << "type " << attribute->value_type() << " of attribute " << attribute->key()->c_str()
+                 << " not implemented in hdf5-io.";
+        BOOST_LOG_SEV(m_logger, boost::log::trivial::severity_level::error) << errorMsg.str();
+        throw std::invalid_argument(errorMsg.str());
+      }
     }
   }
 }
 
 void Hdf5FbGeneral::writeBoundingBoxLabeled(
     const std::string& datatypeGroup, const std::string& uuid,
-    const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::BoundingBoxLabeled>>& boundingboxLabeled)
+    const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::BoundingBoxLabeled>>* boundingboxLabeled)
 {
-  if (!boundingboxLabeled.size() == 0)
+  if (boundingboxLabeled && boundingboxLabeled->size() != 0)
   {
     std::string id = datatypeGroup + "/" + uuid;
 
     std::vector<std::string> labels;
     std::vector<std::vector<double>> boundingBoxes;
     std::vector<std::string> instances;
-    for (auto label : boundingboxLabeled)
+    for (auto label : *boundingboxLabeled)
     {
       labels.push_back(label->labelWithInstance()->label()->str());
       std::vector<double> box{ label->bounding_box()->point_min()->x(), label->bounding_box()->point_min()->y(),
@@ -86,16 +89,16 @@ void Hdf5FbGeneral::writeBoundingBoxLabeled(
 
 void Hdf5FbGeneral::writeBoundingBox2DLabeled(
     const std::string& datatypeGroup, const std::string& uuid,
-    const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::BoundingBox2DLabeled>>& boundingbox2DLabeled)
+    const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::BoundingBox2DLabeled>>* boundingbox2DLabeled)
 {
   std::string id = datatypeGroup + "/" + uuid;
 
-  if (!boundingbox2DLabeled.size() == 0)
+  if (boundingbox2DLabeled && boundingbox2DLabeled->size() != 0)
   {
     std::vector<std::string> labels;
     std::vector<std::vector<double>> boundingBoxes;
     std::vector<std::string> instances;
-    for (auto label : boundingbox2DLabeled)
+    for (auto label : *boundingbox2DLabeled)
     {
       labels.push_back(label->labelWithInstance()->label()->str());
       std::vector<double> box{ label->bounding_box()->point_min()->x(), label->bounding_box()->point_min()->y(),
@@ -123,15 +126,15 @@ void Hdf5FbGeneral::writeBoundingBox2DLabeled(
 
 void Hdf5FbGeneral::writeLabelsGeneral(
     const std::string& datatypeGroup, const std::string& uuid,
-    const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::LabelWithInstance>>& labelsGeneral)
+    const flatbuffers::Vector<flatbuffers::Offset<seerep::fb::LabelWithInstance>>* labelsGeneral)
 {
   std::string id = datatypeGroup + "/" + uuid;
 
-  if (labelsGeneral.size() != 0)
+  if (labelsGeneral && labelsGeneral->size() != 0)
   {
     std::vector<std::string> labels;
     std::vector<std::string> instances;
-    for (auto label : labelsGeneral)
+    for (auto label : *labelsGeneral)
     {
       labels.push_back(label->label()->str());
 
diff --git a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-image.cpp b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-image.cpp
index eb8d2db51..4e5e49e0d 100644
--- a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-image.cpp
+++ b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-image.cpp
@@ -73,10 +73,10 @@ void Hdf5FbImage::writeImage(const std::string& id, const seerep::fb::Image& ima
   }
 
   data_set_ptr->write(tmp);
-  writeHeaderAttributes(*data_set_ptr, *image.header());
+  writeHeaderAttributes(*data_set_ptr, image.header());
 
-  writeBoundingBox2DLabeled(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreImage::HDF5_GROUP_IMAGE, id, *image.labels_bb());
-  writeLabelsGeneral(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreImage::HDF5_GROUP_IMAGE, id, *image.labels_general());
+  writeBoundingBox2DLabeled(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreImage::HDF5_GROUP_IMAGE, id, image.labels_bb());
+  writeLabelsGeneral(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreImage::HDF5_GROUP_IMAGE, id, image.labels_general());
 
   m_file->flush();
 }
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ void Hdf5FbImage::writeImageBoundingBox2DLabeled(const std::string& id,
 {
   const std::scoped_lock lock(*m_write_mtx);
 
-  writeBoundingBox2DLabeled(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreImage::HDF5_GROUP_IMAGE, id, *bb2dLabeledStamped.labels_bb());
+  writeBoundingBox2DLabeled(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CoreImage::HDF5_GROUP_IMAGE, id, bb2dLabeledStamped.labels_bb());
 }
 
 std::optional<flatbuffers::grpc::Message<seerep::fb::Image>> Hdf5FbImage::readImage(const std::string& id,
diff --git a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-point.cpp b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-point.cpp
index eb87a5e83..4cb2a853b 100644
--- a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-point.cpp
+++ b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-point.cpp
@@ -39,11 +39,11 @@ void Hdf5FbPoint::writePoint(const std::string& id, const seerep::fb::PointStamp
   }
 
   data_set_ptr->write(data);
-  writeHeaderAttributes(*data_set_ptr, *point->header());
+  writeHeaderAttributes(*data_set_ptr, point->header());
 
-  writeAttributeMap(data_set_ptr, *point->attribute());
+  writeAttributeMap(data_set_ptr, point->attribute());
 
-  writeLabelsGeneral(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CorePoint::HDF5_GROUP_POINT, id, *point->labels_general());
+  writeLabelsGeneral(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CorePoint::HDF5_GROUP_POINT, id, point->labels_general());
 
   m_file->flush();
 }
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ void Hdf5FbPoint::writeAdditionalPointAttributes(const seerep::fb::AttributesSta
     std::shared_ptr<HighFive::DataSet> data_set_ptr =
         std::make_shared<HighFive::DataSet>(m_file->getDataSet(hdf5DatasetRawDataPath));
 
-    writeAttributeMap(data_set_ptr, *attributeStamped.attribute());
+    writeAttributeMap(data_set_ptr, attributeStamped.attribute());
   }
   catch (const std::exception& e)
   {
diff --git a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-pointcloud.cpp b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-pointcloud.cpp
index 5dcd10db2..427d4474c 100644
--- a/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-pointcloud.cpp
+++ b/seerep-hdf5/seerep-hdf5-fb/src/hdf5-fb-pointcloud.cpp
@@ -43,19 +43,12 @@ void Hdf5FbPointCloud::writePointCloud2(const std::string& id, const seerep::fb:
   writeAttributeToHdf5<uint32_t>(*dataGroupPtr, seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CorePointCloud::ROW_STEP, cloud.row_step());
   writeAttributeToHdf5<bool>(*dataGroupPtr, seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CorePointCloud::IS_DENSE, cloud.is_dense());
 
-  writeHeaderAttributes(*dataGroupPtr, *cloud.header());
+  writeHeaderAttributes(*dataGroupPtr, cloud.header());
 
   writePointFieldAttributes(*dataGroupPtr, *cloud.fields());
 
-  if (cloud.labels_bb() != nullptr)
-  {
-    writeBoundingBoxLabeled(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CorePointCloud::HDF5_GROUP_POINTCLOUD, id, *cloud.labels_bb());
-  }
-
-  if (cloud.labels_general() != nullptr)
-  {
-    writeLabelsGeneral(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CorePointCloud::HDF5_GROUP_POINTCLOUD, id, *cloud.labels_general());
-  }
+  writeBoundingBoxLabeled(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CorePointCloud::HDF5_GROUP_POINTCLOUD, id, cloud.labels_bb());
+  writeLabelsGeneral(seerep_hdf5_core::Hdf5CorePointCloud::HDF5_GROUP_POINTCLOUD, id, cloud.labels_general());
 
   CloudInfo info = getCloudInfo(cloud);