Husky software is now available for the new ROS Hydro Medusa Platform

(Kitchener, ON, Canada - October 17, 2013) Clearpath Robotics has launched Husky software for ROS' latest distribution, Hydro. The largest change in the package was the transition to the new ROS build system, catkin. Significant improvements to the Gazebo-based Husky simulator and basic autonomy are also included, completely free of charge. The package, and all other Husky ROS software, is available at www.github.com/husky.

"Along with the improvements we've made to our own libraries, upgrading to ROS Hydro makes available a significant set of other new features, including compatibility with the latest version of Gazebo and easy access to the alpha release of the MoveIt! manipulation library," said Ryan Gariepy, CTO at Clearpath Robotics. "The release of ROS Hydro validates the ability of the global robotics community to sustain a common software framework, while simultaneously adding exciting new functionality."

This Husky software release has maintained topic names and clearpath_base message types to ensure a smooth transfer from ROS versions as far back as ROS Electric. Users can continue to use rosbuild workspaces in Hydro. It is recommended to begin the migration to the catkin framework as rosbuild will be unavailable in the next ROS distribution (Indigo Igloo), currently slated for release in April 2014. Husky for Hydro can be used alongside previous versions of ROS on the same workstation.

For those who don't yet own a Husky, a simulator package is available here (http://wiki.ros.org/husky_simulator) to enable dynamically-accurate Husky simulation on Ubuntu desktop with one command.

Clearpath will continue to publish detailed guides to the use of ROS software, starting with an introductory article which can be found here (http://www.clearpathrobotics.com/husky-for-ros-hydro/).

About Clearpath Robotics

Clearpath Robotics, a global leader in unmanned vehicle robotics for research and development, is dedicated to automating the world's dullest, dirtiest, and deadliest jobs. The Company serves leading researchers in over 30 countries worldwide in academic, corporate, industrial and military environments. Recognizing the value of future innovation, Clearpath Robotics established PartnerBot, a grant program to support university robotics research teams, internationally. Clearpath Robotics provides robust robotic vehicles and autonomous solutions that are engineered for performance, designed for customization, and built for open source. Visit Clearpath Robotics at www.clearpathrobotics.com, follow us on Twitter @clearpathrobots or like us on Facebook.