Background
The Robot Operating System (ROS)-Industrial Consortium mission is to bring the power and capabilities of ROS to advanced industrial applications. Discussions with industry collaborators frequently identify “ease of use” as one of the biggest challenges to the wider adoption of ROS software. Based on this feedback, SwRI developed an application to combine many commonly used ROS tools and capabilities in a single user-friendly interface. In Phase 1 of this effort (3/2021–4/2022), we created a proof-of-concept application with core capabilities. In Phase 2 (4/2022–10/2023), we expanded that feature set and released the tool as a licensed product.
Figure 1: SWORD Workbench planning complex motions around an imported puzzle shape.
Approach
We developed this tool as a modular plug-in “workbench” for the open-source FreeCAD application (shown in Figure 1), which allows users to work in a familiar design environment. We named this plug-in “SwRI Workbench for Offline Robotics Development” (SWORD). SWORD provides tools to define and execute motion planning problems using a wide range of ROS libraries.
SWORD is intended to target both ROS developers and robot end users. It can be used to simplify software development of ROS motion planning applications, but it can also be used to exercise those same motion planning tools without writing any code. SwRI offers this workbench as a paid software license to the robotics community. License fees help fund further development.
Accomplishments
The majority of SWORD development work was completed in prior fiscal years. During this year, SWORD was released for external use, first to a limited group of beta testers, then to the public at large. The project team has prepared marketing materials, presented numerous live demonstrations, and conducted several group workshops to introduce SWORD’s capabilities to the robotics community. The first paid SWORD licenses were sold and SwRI continues discussions with potential customers.