The robots are taking over! Microsoft has, at the ROSCon 2018 conference in Spain, officially announced that it is bringing the Robot Operating System to Windows 10.
It is also known as ROS1.
Redmond has always invested heavily in technologies like artificial intelligence, but the focus has so far been on the software side of things. Now, the company is paying attention to the hardware field too, with this experimental release.
As noted in a blog post, this new arrival contains the tools and libraries that will enable developers to build complex robots that make use of advanced capabilities like computer vision, Windows Machine Learning and Azure Cognitive Services and Azure IoT cloud services, among others.
Their words:
“People have always been fascinated by robots. Today advanced robots are complementing our lives, both at work and at home. Warehouse robots have enabled next-day deliveries to online shoppers, and many pet owners rely on robotic vacuums to keep their floors clean. Industries seeing benefits from robots are as diverse as manufacturing, transportation, healthcare and real estate. As robots have advanced, so have the development tools. We see robotics with artificial intelligence as universally accessible technology to augment human abilities.”
The technology giant also confirmed that it has joined the ROS Industrial Consortium to invest in industrial robots, and is working with the organization as well as Open Robotics to bring the Robot Operating System to the Windows platform.
At the conference in Spain, the company also showcased its very own robot called ROBOTIS Turtlebot 3, which is powered by a special version of the ROS1 called Melodic Morenia.
It serves as one of the first demo, and comes with software that has been developed to recognize and steer towards the person that is closest to the robot.
More details available here.
