Geoffrey Biggs, the CTO of the Open Source Robotics Foundation, will explain key ROS 2 features to learn in Boston.
The post Get ready for ROS 1 sunset and learn ROS 2 features at the Robotics Summit appeared first on The Robot Report.
Source: OSRF
The Robot Operating System, or ROS, has matured along with robotics research, development, and commercial use. The Open Source Robotics Foundation made the first public release of ROS 2 more than a decade ago, and ROS 1 is reaching its end of life on May 31, 2025.
Attendees of the Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be on April 30 and May 1, can learn about how the operating system‘s features continue to enable development and deployment. Geoffrey Biggs, chief technology officer of the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF), will discuss how ROS 2 usage has grown for commercial products and services.
He will examine ROS 2 successes across a wide range of fields, including warehouse robotics, in-factory transportation, long-term ocean research, delivery drones, hotel delivery, hospital automation, and even on the International Space Station. Biggs will also explain how the platform allows robot developers to receive the work of hundreds of engineers for much lower investment than building systems from scratch.
In addition, Robotics Summit attendees will learn why using ROS 2 is the best path to successful product development and scaling up to full deployment. Biggs will talk about perceived barriers to adoption and what’s on the horizon for ROS 2 as ROS 1 reaches its end of life.
Learn about ROS from OSRF CTO
Geoffrey Biggs, CTO of the OSRF, was previously a software engineer at Open Source Robotics Corp., where he worked mainly on ROS and Open-RMF.
Prior to this, he worked as a senior researcher at Japan’s Institute of Advanced Industrial Engineering Technology and as an engineering manager at Tier IV Inc., where he was part of the technical leadership team of the Autoware Foundation.
Biggs has nearly 20 years of experience working with and on open-source software, beginning with the Player Project. In recent years, this has bloomed into related community activities. He has led the organization of ROSCon JP since 2017, and prior to the pandemic, he regularly gave free tutorials on ROS to the Japanese ROS community.
Intrinsic acquired Open Source Robotics Corp. in 2023, and the OSRF launched the Open Source Robotics Alliance last year.
See more at the 2025 Robotics Summit & Expo
The 2025 Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, is produced by WTWH Media, parent company of The Robot Report and Automated Warehouse. The event will bring together more than 5,000 attendees focused on building robots for various commercial industries. Attendees can gain insights into the latest enabling technologies, engineering best practices, emerging trends, and more.
The show will have more than 50 educational sessions in tracks on artificial intelligence, design and development, enabling technologies, healthcare, and logistics. The Engineering Theater on the show floor will also include presentations by industry experts.
Keynote speakers will include:
- Aaron Saunders, the chief technology officer at Boston Dynamics
- Aaron Parness, the director of applied science in robotics and AI at Amazon Robotics
- James Kuffner, the CTO of Symbotic
- Daniela Rus, the director of MIT CSAIL
- Aadeel Akhtar, the CEO and founder of PSYONIC
The expo hall will showcase over 200 exhibitors showcasing the latest enabling technologies, products, and services that can help robotics engineers throughout their development journeys.
The Robotics Summit also offers numerous networking opportunities, a career fair, a robotics development challenge, the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards Gala, and more.
Co-located with the event is DeviceTalks Boston, the premier event for medical technology professionals, currently in its tenth year. Both events attract engineering and business professionals from a broad range of healthcare and medical technology backgrounds.
The post Get ready for ROS 1 sunset and learn ROS 2 features at the Robotics Summit appeared first on The Robot Report.
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