Cited by 1,585Robotics and Automated SystemsRobotics and Sensor-Based LocalizationRobot Manipulation and Learning

Robot Operating System 2: Design, architecture, and uses in the wild

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Macenski, Steven, Foote, Tully, Gerkey, Brian, Lalancette, Chris, Woodall, William·2022·Science Robotics

Abstract

The next chapter of the robotics revolution is well underway with the deployment of robots for a broad range of commercial use cases. Even in a myriad of applications and environments, there exists a common vocabulary of components that robots share—the need for a modular, scalable, and reliable architecture; sensing; planning; mobility; and autonomy. The Robot Operating System (ROS) was an integral part of the last chapter, demonstrably expediting robotics research with freely available components and a modular framework. However, ROS 1 was not designed with many necessary production-grade features and algorithms. ROS 2 and its related projects have been redesigned from the ground up to meet the challenges set forth by modern robotic systems in new and exploratory domains at all scales. In this Review, we highlight the philosophical and architectural changes of ROS 2 powering this new chapter in the robotics revolution. We also show through case studies the influence ROS 2 and its adoption has had on accelerating real robot systems to reliable deployment in an assortment of challenging environments.

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Authors
Macenski, S., Foote, T., Gerkey, B., Lalancette, C., & Woodall, W.
Affiliations
  • Samsung Research America, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
  • Open Robotics, Mountain View, CA 94041, USA.
Venue
Science Robotics
Published
2022-05-25
Volume
7
Issue
66
Pages
eabm6074-eabm6074
ISSN
2470-9476 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4280571816
Cited by
1,585
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 468 · 2025: 493 · 2024: 378 · 2023: 212 · 2022: 34
FWCI
21.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Science Robotics (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Control and Systems Engineering › Robotics and Automated Systems
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Robotics and Sensor-Based Localization
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Control and Systems Engineering › Robot Manipulation and Learning
Keywords
ROS2, ROS1, modular software design, robot autonomy, robot mobility, robot sensing, robot planning, open-source robotics software
MeSH terms
Algorithms, Robotics, Software, Reactive Oxygen Species

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