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AWS Launches Service for Robotics Developers
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the general availability of a cloud-based development platform for makers of robot applications.
AWS RoboMaker, launched Monday, gives developers an end-to-end solution to "develop, simulate, test, and deploy" their robotics apps, wrote AWS evangelist Jeff Barr in a blog post introducing the service.
The RoboMaker development environment lets developers use their own code or one the pre-included sample applications. Developers can then run simulations of their code using one (or all) of four supported tools: Gazebo, rqt, rviz and terminal.
RoboMaker lets developers run simulations based on a variety of scenarios, according to Barr.
"After you design and code an algorithm for your robot, you can create parallel simulation jobs in order to quickly see how your algorithm performs in different conditions or environments," he said. "For example, you could use tens or hundreds of real-world models of streets or offices to test a wayfinding or driving algorithm."
With their code finished, RoboMaker users can then deploy their code to a robot -- or a fleet of robots -- using the service's built-in integration with AWS Greengrass, which is part of AWS' Internet of Things (IoT) portfolio.
RoboMaker lets developers tap multiple AWS services to supplement their robotics apps, Barr noted.
"Your code can make use of AWS services such as Amazon Lex, Polly, Amazon Rekognition, Amazon Kinesis Video Streams, and Amazon CloudWatch to build a sophisticated robot brain, accessible as a set of packages for ROS (Robotic Operating System)," he wrote. "You can also build and train Amazon SageMaker models in order to make use of Machine Learning in your robot brain."
More information on RoboMaker is available here.