Robot Operating Systems: Bridging the Gap between Human and Robot

A robot operating system (ROS) is a collection of programs which allow a user to easily control the mobile operations of a robot. This paper describes research conducted on sixteen different ROSs to determine which one will most accommodate future Trinity undergraduates for use in further robotics research. The goal of this research is to reduce this list of 16 ROSs to a single ROS that can be used by Trinity undergraduates with limited programming experience to perform simple robotic motion tasks. First, a detailed list of criteria describing the ideal ROS was created. The list of ROSs was narrowed down to a single ROS that best fit these criteria. This ROS is called Player/Stage. Next, Player/Stage was tested to ensure the validity of the research performed. In these tests, a robot's mobility and sensors were controlled by a user via Player/Stage. This ROS excelled in both the mobility tests and the sensor tests, and also proved simple to navigate and manage.