micro-ROS: Bridging the Gap Between Resource-constrained and Larger Processing Units in Robotic Applications

Mar 9, 2020Tech

FIWARE is a proud consortium partner of the micro-ROS project. micro-ROS is a robotic framework bridging the gap between resource-constrained and larger processing units in robotic applications.

Within the current digital revolution, robots have the power to improve many aspects of economic and social life. Intelligent environments where robots help and collaborate with humans are already a reality in many application domains.

Robot Operating System (ROS) has become the de facto standard for the development of open-source robotics software and has played an essential role in the rapid evolution of robotic applications. While ROS applications are well-suited for larger computing devices, they do not encompass the microcontroller level where embedded devices with severe limitations in their memory, computing power, and bandwidth, demand robust and efficient components. micro-ROS is the robotic framework that bridges the gap between resource-constrained and larger processing units in robotic applications. In addition, micro-ROS brings the ROS programming interface to these resource-constrained devices. With micro-ROS, microcontrollers can be integrated seamlessly into ROS 2-based systems.

With micro-ROS, microcontrollers will no longer be inflexible black boxes. The combination of ROS 2 and micro-ROS results in a full-stack robotic framework that lowers market entry barriers by saving costs and accelerating robot developments. However, the contribution of micro-ROS goes beyond the integration and portability of ROS-based software to micro-controllers. The FIWARE micro-ROS adapter makes robots interoperable with heterogeneous services, sensors, and devices from the IoT world. By sharing rich context information with a wide range of IoT solutions, robots become smarter and can better adapt to their environments. This allows truly distributed robotic systems to interact even more intelligently with the world around them.

For more information about the micro-ROS project, please read the micro-ROS flyer or visit the micro-ROS website.

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