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US DoD selects Stratom to migrate robotic systems from ROS-1 to ROS-2

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Stratom, a developer of autonomous ground vehicles and robotic systems for logistics and operational applications, has been selected as part of an exclusive team to deliver the US Department of Defense’s Stage II of the Modular Autonomy and Robotic Software program, which involves the collaborative migration of Robotic Technology Kernel software modules from the first version of the Robot Operating System to ROS 2. 

For nearly a decade, the US government has been developing ROS-M (Robotic Operating System-Military), an ecosystem of software architectures, reusable components and supporting infrastructure to enable rapid development and fielding of robotic and autonomous systems.

Built on ROS 1, ROS-M enables the DoD to benefit from open-source development practices while maintaining tight control over the community-developed code. However, ROS 1’s current revision, Noetic, is set to be the last version, with support ending in 2025. [Read more…] about US DoD selects Stratom to migrate robotic systems from ROS-1 to ROS-2

Doosan Robotics introduces ‘industry’s first’ ROS package for its machines

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Doosan Robotics has released the Doosan ROS 2 package, compatible with the latest ROS 2 Foxy Fitzroy.

By releasing the package in early 2021, Doosan Robotics says it has positioned itself as “the first to operate collaborative robots driven by the newest version of ROS 2”.

Doosan Robotics strategically designed its ROS 2 Foxy package to provide both convenience and accessibility. [Read more…] about Doosan Robotics introduces ‘industry’s first’ ROS package for its machines

PI USA adds ROS drivers to its hexapod robotic positioners

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PI USA has added Robot Operating System (ROS) drivers to its hexapod 6-axis robotic positioners.

ROS, managed by ROS.org, is a flexible framework for robotics software development, and PI has released ROS drivers for its full compact H-811 hexapod range.

These miniature 6 degrees-of-freedom robotic positioning systems provide sub-micron precision for applications including Silicon Photonics array alignment, medical robotics, camera lens optimization, and microscopy. [Read more…] about PI USA adds ROS drivers to its hexapod robotic positioners

Otto Motors integrates its warehouse robots with Boston Dynamics’ robot dog

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Otto Motors, a maker of autonomous mobile robots for warehouses and part of Clearpath Robotics, has integrated its warehouse robots with Boston Dynamics’ robot dog, Spot, as part of a demonstration. (See video below.)

The company says it combined its separate areas of expertise – from Clearpath and Otto – into “a dynamic real-world application using Boston Dynamics’ Spot”.

At the end of last year, Clearpath released a ROS software package for Spot which allows researchers to take full advantage of ROS capabilities out-of-the-box and leverage widely available open-source libraries and tools with Spot. [Read more…] about Otto Motors integrates its warehouse robots with Boston Dynamics’ robot dog

RTI introduces enhanced ROS 2 support to software framework

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Real-Time Innovations (RTI), a software framework provider for robots and smart machines, has launched its Connext 6 ROS Middleware Wrapper (RMW) Layer, bringing the strength of RTI Connext 6 to the latest release of the Robot Operating System (ROS 2).

Robotics software developers can now leverage the ROS 2 ecosystem together with RTI Connext Tools to more rapidly develop, test and debug distributed robotics systems. RTI will showcase the new Connext RMW layer at ROS World on November 12.

ROS 2 offers an open-source framework for building robotic systems. RTI is the leading supplier of software compliant with the Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard, which provides the connectivity backbone for ROS 2. [Read more…] about RTI introduces enhanced ROS 2 support to software framework

ADLINK teams up with Intel to launch ROS-based robotics technology

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ADLINK Technology, a provider of edge computing systems, has launched the ROScube-I with Intel, providing a real-time ROS 2 robot controller for advanced robotic applications.

The ADLINK ROScube-I Series is a ROS 2-enabled robotic controller based on Intel Xeon E, 9th Gen Intel Core i7/i3 and 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processors, and features exceptional I/O connectivity supporting a wide variety of sensors and actuators to meet the needs of a wide range of robotic applications.

The ROScube-I supports an extension box for convenient functional and performance expansion with Intel VPU cards and the Intel Distribution of OpenVINO toolkit for computation of AI algorithms and inference. [Read more…] about ADLINK teams up with Intel to launch ROS-based robotics technology

Hexagon NovAtel unveils ROS-based autonomous driving platform

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NovAtel, part of Hexagon, has released of its first purpose-built driver, powered by Robot Operating System (ROS), to support its OEM7 family of GNSS receivers.

The driver, developed by NovAtel engineers, provides an optimized interface enabling users to accelerate autonomous development projects by quickly incorporating NovAtel OEM7 receivers into custom applications.

The driver is available for immediate download through the new NovAtel GitHub repository or as a ROS Binary Package for direct installation. [Read more…] about Hexagon NovAtel unveils ROS-based autonomous driving platform

The rise of the Robot Operating System

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Nearly 55 percent of total commercial robots shipped in 2024 will have at least one Robot Operating System package installed, according to ABI Research

The Robot Operating System, or ROS, is a flexible and collaborative open-source framework for building operating systems for robotics.

As its adoption continues to grow, ROS is aiming to become the industry standard for robotics middleware.

According to ABI Research, a market research company, nearly 55 percent of total commercial robots shipped in 2024 – over 915,000 units – will have at least one ROS package installed, creating a large installed base of ROS-enabled robots.

[Read more…] about The rise of the Robot Operating System

ROS celebrates 10 years as it looks forward to an expanding market

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The Robot Operating System is marking its 10th anniversary since launch, and with 10 million downloads a month, the market for ROS is set for “significant expansion”, according to a report by Transparency Research

The Robot Operating System is a collection of software tools and libraries used by robot programmers for developing applications.

ROS itself is not an operating system but uses an operating system’s user interface, file system, process management system, and programming utilities.  [Read more…] about ROS celebrates 10 years as it looks forward to an expanding market

TheConstruct launches new training courses for Robot Operating System

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construct ros industrial

TheConstruct has launched several new courses for people who want to learn to use the Robot Operating System. 

The online simulation environment provider has two courses, in particular, which may interest readers of this website.

One of them is called ROS Autonomous Vehicles 101, and the other is ROS-Industrial 101. Both are available through the website, TheConstructSim.com.  [Read more…] about TheConstruct launches new training courses for Robot Operating System