A deprecated ROS stack for multi-master communication and GUI-based node management, now replaced by the multi-agent suite.
FKIE multimaster for ROS was a software stack that enabled multi-master communication and node management in ROS-based robotics systems. It provided tools for discovering and synchronizing multiple ROS masters, along with a GUI for managing launch configurations and controlling nodes across distributed setups. The project solved the challenge of coordinating complex, multi-robot or distributed ROS environments.
Robotics developers and researchers working with distributed ROS systems, multi-robot setups, or requiring centralized management of nodes across multiple masters.
It offered an integrated solution combining multi-master communication with a user-friendly GUI for node management, reducing the complexity of deploying and controlling distributed robotics applications. Developers chose it for its comprehensive toolset that addressed both communication and operational management needs in ROS.
DEPRICATED! Use the multi-agent suite instead!
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Enabled ROS nodes to communicate across multiple masters using multicast or zeroconf discovery, as highlighted in the documentation for distributed robotics systems.
Provided a Node Manager GUI to control launch configurations and nodes locally and remotely, simplifying oversight in complex setups, as described in the README.
Synchronized topics, services, and parameters between masters, facilitating coordinated operations without manual intervention, based on the synchronization features outlined.
Included a daemon for easy auto-start and management of remote nodes, enhancing automation capabilities in distributed environments, per the Node Manager daemon documentation.
The project is explicitly marked as deprecated in the README, with no future updates or support, directing users to the fkie-multi-agent-suite for ROS1 and ROS2 compatibility.
Requires managing gRPC dependencies, especially on older Ubuntu versions, with potential need for PPAs or PyPI installations, as noted in the install instructions, adding setup overhead.
Supports only ROS1, unlike its successor which handles both ROS1 and ROS2, making it obsolete for modern robotics projects transitioning to ROS2.
Past version changes involved renaming packages (e.g., from _fkie to fkie_ prefix), which can cause build issues if old artifacts are not cleaned, as warned in the README.