18 posts tagged with "panther"

We're thrilled to announce the release of the latest Husarion UGV ROS 2 driver – Jazzy 2.3.2 – our biggest update in a while, with plenty of new features to share. This update brings a host of new features, improvements, and bug fixes that enhance the performance and capabilities of our Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs). Whether you're using the Panther or Lynx platform, this new driver version is designed to provide a more seamless and efficient experience for all users.

Continue reading to explore the key features of the Husarion UGV ROS 2 driver, including:

• The Twist Mux Controller: A custom, chainable ros2_control controller built for deterministic, low-latency command velocity handling.
• Simulation Improvements: Plug-and-play gamepad support and high-precision ground truth tracking in Gazebo.
• New LED Animations: Introducing GOAL_FAILED and FLOOD_LIGHT animations for enhanced diagnostics and visibility.
• Updated URDF Components: New and improved components in the husarion_components_ros package, including a new rack component, custom component support, and enhanced visual representations of existing components.

At ELROB 2026, we taught Panther a route by simply walking it on a wire - our patent-pending Follow Me system - and then let it shuttle the course autonomously, alongside leading defense and robotics teams.

In mid-June, the Husarion team took part in the European Land Robot Trial 2026 (ELROB 2026), an official field trial that gave us a strong opportunity to validate our outdoor autonomy setup in real terrain - and show how quickly it can be deployed in practice.

The Husarion UGV Configurator is a simple yet powerful tool that will simplify the way you configure, manage, and interact with your robot platform. It's designed as a Textual User Interface (TUI) application that brings a lot of useful tools in a user-friendly interface.

Continue reading to learn more about its key features, including:

1. ROS configuration management
   • Modify controller parameters such as velocity limits
   • Add URDF components
   • Manage and create custom animations
   • Restore default configuration
2. Driver control
   • Restart the driver
   • View real-time logs
   • Update driver version
3. Accessing robot information
   • Quick access to robot information such as: robot model, serial number, driver version, etc.

We’re excited to announce a major update to the Husarion UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) ROS 2 driver, rebranded and upgraded from Panther ROS 2 driver to accommodate multiple Husarion robotic platforms. This enhancement is not just a name change, it's an evolution into a more versatile and universally applicable driver across all Husarion UGV platforms. Whether you're already using the Panther or exploring the new Husarion Lynx, this enhanced driver brings powerful improvements designed to support the full range of our UGVs.

Continue reading to explore the key features of the Husarion UGV ROS 2 driver, including:

• Support for multiple platforms, including Husarion Lynx mobile platform.
• New, more versatile, visually appealing, and informative LED animations.
• Simplified configuration management of the ROS driver.
• WebUI, now available by default, with new features like AUX power and motor torque management.
• Switch to gamepad controller XInput mode.

Panther and Lynx are versatile mobile robot platforms designed for a wide range of applications. One popular use case is autonomous navigation, such as transporting goods in industrial or logistics settings.

To make this easier, we’ve created a reference autonomy setup that’s modular, open-source, and easy to adapt to your needs. It's available on our GitHub: 👉 husarion-ugv-autonomy

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through:

• System architecture and component layout.
• How to adapt the setup to your specific project requirements.
• Preparing the WiBotic charging station for autonomous docking.
• Mapping, navigation, and docking procedures

Aircraft inspection is a complex task that demands high precision. These inspections often involve detecting subtle defects in aircraft components, such as cracks or dents.

There is a steady increase in the use of robots for aircraft testing, driven by their cost-effectiveness and the ability to reduce the error associated with manual inspections. However, the broader adoption of robotic systems has faced challenges, particularly the difficulty of accurately positioning robots within the complex environments of aircraft hangars, which lack GPS signals. Yet, accurate localisation is crucial for maintaining aircraft through meticulous and precise inspections.

Two students’ research projects at the Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre at Cranfield University focus on enhancing the precision of robotic localisation in such conditions using two innovative methods, with the Husarion Panther UGV platform.

How can autonomous mobile robots help Australia, the heart of macadamia nuts, regain its position as the world's largest producer? And what do Husarion Panther UGV platforms have to do with it? As it turns out, quite a lot!

The Australian macadamia industry, facing many hurdles and challenges, has been overtaken by South Africa. Macadamia nuts are indigenous to Australia. Now, Australia has about 18-20% market share. Addressing the problem of food loss during harvesting, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) developed a cutting-edge solution using the Husarion Panther UGV platform. This innovation aims to transform macadamia harvesting using advanced robotics to reduce waste and increase efficiency.

What inspired this RMIT project, and what technical challenges will they overcome? Dive into the details of this journey and the promising future of automated macadamia nut harvesting. 👇🏻

We are excited to announce the beta release of the ROS 2 Humble driver for the Panther UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle), which brings new features designed to improve real-time performance, provide better control of hardware components, and offer advanced diagnostic monitoring. In this blog post, we’ll highlight the key advantages of the ROS 2 driver compared to its predecessor, with a focus on improvements in communication, integration with side frameworks, and the introduction of new features.

Continue reading to explore the key features of the Panther ROS 2 driver, including:

• Full control of robot hardware components through the robust ros2_control framework.
• Optimization for a real-time Linux kernel, ensuring enhanced performance.
• Advanced safety features and state management powered by BehaviorTree.
• A refined Gazebo simulation with easy robot configuration management.

European Robotics Forum, held annually in various vibrant European cities, stands as one of the most influential robotics events in Europe, bringing together researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers to discuss the latest advancements, challenges, and opportunities in the field of robotics.

This year, Husarion proudly showcased its well-proven robust mobile robotic platforms - Panther and ROSbot XL - at ERF 2024 in Rimini, Italy, captivating a broad audience of European robotics professionals and innovators.

If you didn’t have a chance to meet us in person, make sure to check out the short description of the solutions we presented and take a look at the video from our booth. And if you have any questions about our solutions, don’t hesitate to drop us an email at contact@husarion.com.

Like many other robotics companies, we use Docker to package and deploy ROS software in our robots. While Docker served us well, its complexities and constraints began impacting our ability to scale and secure our software deployments efficiently. We needed a more streamlined solution.

This blog presents the journey we took exploring snaps as a deployment infrastructure. We wrote this blog to help others facing the same challenges with Docker, and to show how you can take the first steps towards an improved deployment infrastructure and a more security-compliant approach.