Announcing the ROS 2 Hardware Drivers Page: A New Resource for the ROS Community
PickNik Robotics is proud to announce the launch of the ROS 2 Hardware Drivers partners page, a new online resource showcasing robot hardware, particularly robotic arms, that are compatible with the ROS 2 middleware. This initiative is a direct result of PickNik’s long term dedication to ROS, open source, and creating open source ROS drivers for various brands of hardware. This work was undertaken by PickNik in response to needs raised at a meeting held at ROSCon 2024 by the OSRF, PickNik, ROS Industrial, and other key contributors.
The ROS 2 Hardware Drivers page is designed to serve as a valuable resource for developers, integrators, and researchers, enabling them to identify compatible hardware for their ROS 2-based projects efficiently. It also acts as a barometer for the widespread adoption of ROS 2 middleware worldwide. The page lists all robots with known ROS 2 compatibility and is continually updated. If you know of ROS 2-compatible robots or components not yet featured, let us know—we’re happy to add them. We also offer ROS 2 driver development services to further support the community.
To guide users, the page incorporates a ROS 2 Driver quality score ranking methodology:
- Great: High-bandwidth streaming, typically > 500 Hz
- The most complex drivers to write and the most powerful: these drivers enable visual servoing, dextrous manipulation on top of a mobile base, and sensitive force compliance (if you have a force torque sensor).
- Average: Low-bandwidth trajectory, typically < 25 Hz
- These allow you to avoid static obstacles you have sensed at planning time.
- Poor: Low-bandwidth single-point, typically < 25 Hz
- These drivers are difficult to use in advanced applications. Avoiding collisions is difficult because you cannot stream commands around the obstacles or provide a pre-planned trajectory around it.
We’re particularly excited to include details about compatibility with MoveIt Pro, our advanced solution for ML, perception, motion planning, and control. The “Compatible with MoveIt Pro” designation comes in two tiers. Gold Integration signifies hardware that PickNik has rigorously tested, complete with a working ROS 2 driver and MoveIt Pro configuration we endorse. Basic Integration indicates successful integration by a third-party company, though it has not undergone validation by PickNik.
We believe the robotics industry is stronger thanks to interoperability with ROS, and we are committed to advancing the robotics industry through community development.
