In context
In late 2024, the robotics industry was increasingly focused on interoperability and flexible automation. ROS had become the de facto standard for robot software, yet integrating it with commercial platforms remained challenging. Intrinsic, Alphabet's robotics software unit, aimed to bridge this gap, signaling a trend toward more open, modular development environments.
What was reported
At ROSCon 2024 in Odense, Denmark, Intrinsic demonstrated how ROS capabilities can be integrated with Flowstate, its development environment. In collaboration with industrial automation partner Comau, Intrinsic enabled existing ROS-based services to work with Flowstate without modifying original code—a first for the company. This was achieved through a custom Flowstate skill that interfaces directly with ROS 2 nodes developed by Comau.
The collaboration allowed Comau's MI.RA/Depalletizer skill to run within Intrinsic's ecosystem, alongside Flowstate's built-in skills like collision avoidance and multi-camera compatibility. The solution uses depth cameras and ROS to query MI.RA for 3D box positions on pallets, enabling automated grasping and motion planning. Flowstate users also gain access to ROS tools such as RViz, Rosbag, and ROS logs for enhanced visualization and debugging.
Comau became Intrinsic's first industry partner to validate both Intrinsic-to-ROS communication and a workflow for future solutions. The companies highlighted that this modular approach simplifies adaptation and offers a flexible, scalable solution for diverse automation needs.
Why it mattered
This integration marked a step toward greater interoperability between commercial robotics platforms and the open-source ROS ecosystem. By enabling reuse of existing ROS code and tools, it promised reduced development time and more adaptive solutions for manufacturers, particularly in logistics tasks like depalletizing, which have traditionally been inflexible and costly to reprogram.
"The ability to seamlessly combine ROS and Intrinsic skills this way enables the reuse and repurposing of valuable code, saves development time, and helps keep the developer's focus on creatively solving the tasks."
Source: Robotics & Automation News (roboticsandautomationnews.com) · Published 2024-10-29 · “Alphabet’s Intrinsic looking to integrate more closely with ROS”