A robot can complete a task on its own, but keeping a large number of robots working well is a different challenge. RobotOps brings software engineering, automation, monitoring, and operational practices into the world of robotics. It helps teams manage robots throughout their working life, from development and testing to deployment, maintenance, and retirement. In this guide, you will learn what RobotOps means, how Robotics Operations work, why Robot Fleet Management matters, and how technologies such as ROS 2 and robot simulation fit into the picture.
RobotOps is a set of practices, tools, and processes used to develop, deploy, monitor, maintain, and manage robotic systems.
It applies ideas from software operations and DevOps to robotics.
In a normal software application, a team may:
Robotic systems need similar practices, but they also have physical parts.
A robot may have motors, cameras, batteries, sensors, controllers, and communication systems. Its software must work with these parts in the real world.
RobotOps helps connect these software and hardware needs.
Consider an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) used in a warehouse.
The robot moves goods from one area to another. Its software handles navigation, sensors, movement, and communication with the warehouse system.
A RobotOps team may be responsible for: