AWS launches RoboMaker dev service for building intelligent robotics apps
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Amazon Web Services is rolling out a new cloud service designed to help developers build, test and deploy intelligent robotics applications. The cloud juggernaut said the new AWS RoboMaker service works on top of the open-source robotics middleware Robot Operating System, and extends the framework with connectivity to AWS services for machine learning, monitoring, and analytics.
The idea is to give developers a centralized dev environment in the cloud where they can build robotics applications, test them in an open source simulator, and deploy them directly to their robots. The service also covers lifecycle management and supports OTA updates with built-in robot registry, security, and fault-tolerance.
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"When talking to our customers, we see the same pattern repeated over and again," said Roger Barga, GM of RoboMaker, in a press release. "They spend a lot of time setting up infrastructure and cobbling together software for different stages of the robotics development cycle, repeating work others have done before, leaving less time for innovation."
RoboMaker also offers cloud extensions for Amazon Kinesis Video Streams ingestion, Amazon Rekognition image and video analysis, Amazon Lex speech recognition, Amazon Polly speech generation, and Amazon CloudWatch logging and monitoring.
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"AWS RoboMaker provides prebuilt functionality to support robotics developers during their entire project, making it significantly easier to build robots, simulate performance in various environments, iterate faster, and drive greater innovation," Barga added.
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Amazon said NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Stanley Black and Decker are current RoboMaker customers, using the system to build space rovers and drones for industrial inspection. AWS said RoboMaker is available in US East, US West, and EU (Ireland), with plans to expand to additional regions next year.
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