Above is an episode of Embedded Toolbox, part of the “Let’s Build a Robot Series,” which begins integrating the Robot Operating System (ROS) into a VxWorks-based design. Why use an operating system alongside an operating system?

Well, ROS isn’t a true operating system, at least in the way VxWorks is. ROS is a middleware comprised of a framework and tools that provide OS-like functionality, but it still needs to be paired with a true operating system capable of task scheduling, prioritization, management, and resource allocation. In our robot build and many other mission-critical designs, this requirement makes VxWorks a perfect running mate, especially considering that VxWorks containers offer an ideal solution for managing and deploying ROS’s various services.

Rob Woolley, Principal Technologist in the Technology Office at Wind River, rejoins us as we add an avoidance application powered by ROS 2 services to a VxWorks container, then deploy it to the TurtleBot that will serve as our target moving forward.

See the video above.