Robot Operating System

Robot Operating System (ROS) is a flexible framework for writing robot software. It is a collection of tools, libraries, and conventions that aim to simplify the task of creating complex and robust robot behavior across a wide variety of robotic platforms. It is used for creating truly robust, general-purpose robot software which is otherwise very difficult. From the robot's perspective, problems that seem trivial to humans often vary wildly between instances of tasks and environments. Dealing with these variations is so difficult that no single individual, laboratory, or institution was able to do it on their own.

As a result, ROS was built encourage collaborative robotics software development on a common platform that can easily be understood. For example, one laboratory might have experts in mapping indoor environments, and could contribute a world-class system for producing maps. Another group might have experts at using maps to navigate, and yet another group might have discovered a computer vision approach that works well for recognizing small objects in clutter. ROS was designed specifically for groups like these to collaborate and improvise each other's work.