Ros-Industrial quality-assured robot software components
ROSIN will create a step change in the availability of high-quality intelligent robot software components for the European
industry. This is achieved by building on the existing open-source “Robot Operating System” (ROS) framework and
leveraging its worldwide community. ROS and its subsidiary ROS-Industrial (European side led by TU Delft and
Fraunhofer) is well-known, but its European industrial potential is underestimated. The two main critiques are (1) is the
quality on par with industry, and (2) is there enough European industrial interest to justify investing in it? Partially, the
answer is “yes and yes”; ample industrial installations are already operational. Partially however, the two questions hold
each other in deadlock, because further quality improvement requires industrial investment and vice versa. ROSIN will
resolve the deadlock and put Europe in a leading position.
For software quality, ROSIN introduces a breakthrough innovation in automated code quality testing led by IT University
Copenhagen, complemented with a full palette of quality assurance measures including novel model-in-the-loop continuous
integration testing with ABB robots. Simultaneously, more ROS-Industrial tools and components will be created by making
50% of the ROSIN budget available to collaborating European industrial users and developers for so-called Focused
Technical Projects. ROSIN maximizes budget efficacy by alleviating yet another deadlock; experience shows that industry
will fund ROS-Industrial developments, but only after successful delivery. ROSIN provides pre-financing for developers
which will be recovered into a future revolving fund to perpetuate the mechanism.
Together with broad education activities (open for any EU party) led by Fachhochshule Aachen and community-building
activities led by Fraunhofer, ROSIN will let ROS-Industrial reach critical mass with further self-propelled growth resulting
in a widely adopted, high-quality, open-source industrial standard.