rosbridgeserver

rosbridgeserver is a ROS package that provides a WebSocket server for enabling communication with ROS (Robot Operating System) from non-ROS applications or clients. It acts as a bridge, allowing external systems to send and receive ROS messages, call ROS services, and subscribe to ROS topics without needing to run a full ROS client library.

The core functionality of rosbridgeserver is to translate between ROS messages and a standardized JSON format. This translation allows for easy integration with a wide variety of programming languages and platforms, including web browsers, Python, JavaScript, Java, and more. Clients connect to the rosbridgeserver instance via WebSockets, establishing a persistent communication channel.

Key features include the ability to subscribe to any ROS topic, publish messages to any ROS topic, call ROS services and receive their responses, and get information about available topics, services, and parameters. rosbridgeserver is highly configurable, allowing users to specify the port the server listens on and control which ROS topics and services are exposed. This makes it a versatile tool for building distributed robotics systems, creating web-based interfaces for ROS robots, or integrating ROS with other software systems. It is a fundamental component for enabling ROS to interact with the wider world of computing.