The newly formed Open-Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF) wants to
take robotics development into the future as fast as possible,
and says it will support the development, distribution, and
adoption of open-source software for use in robotics research,
education, and product development. Open-source robotics
software already exists as the Robot Operating System (ROS), one
of the most widely-used robot software platforms. Similar to
Linux on a much smaller scale, ROS is an ecosystem consisting of
modules, libraries, and tools, and the people who contribute and
use them, Brian Gerkey, chief executive officer of the OSRF and
director of open-source development at Willow Garage, told us.
The OSRF's role is a legal entity that can act as a steward of
the ROS community, a focal point for people interested in ROS,
and a nexus for government agency and corporate funding, said
Gerkey. A new foundation supports the development of open-source
robotics software that will bring more sophisticated abilities
like motion plann