ros-skill

What This Skill Does

The ros-skill enables OpenClaw AI to interface directly with ROS (Robot Operating System) and ROS 2 ecosystems via rosbridge. It transforms your AI agent into a sophisticated robotics controller, capable of querying system status, publishing data to topics, executing service calls, and interacting with high-level action servers. By communicating over a WebSocket interface (:9090), the skill provides a real-time, low-latency bridge that allows the agent to monitor sensor data, adjust navigation parameters, or command robot actuators programmatically.

Installation

1. Install the Python dependency on your host machine: pip install websocket-client.
2. Ensure the rosbridge suite is installed on your robot using sudo apt install ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-rosbridge-server.
3. Launch the bridge: ros2 launch rosbridge_server rosbridge_websocket_launch.xml (or the equivalent ROS 1 command).
4. Install the skill via ClawHub: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/lpigeon/ros-skill.

Use Cases

• Autonomous Navigation: Querying robot odometry and diagnostic topics to monitor health.
• Dynamic Configuration: Adjusting parameters on the fly, such as speed limits or sensor detection thresholds.
• Service Execution: Triggering specialized robot functions like docking, re-calibrating IMUs, or toggling grippers.
• Telemetry Monitoring: Subscribing to image or scan data to provide real-time environment status back to the user.

Example Prompts

1. "Check the current list of active ROS nodes and tell me if the navigation stack is running."
2. "Subscribe to the /cmd_vel topic and verify if the robot is receiving movement commands."
3. "Call the /gripper_control service with the parameter set to 'close' to secure the object."

Tips & Limitations

• Connectivity: Always initiate a connect command before performing operations to verify the WebSocket link.
• Environment: Ensure your ROS_DISTRO matches the installed packages; the skill supports both ROS 1 and ROS 2, but command syntax may differ for action servers.
• Latency: Because this relies on WebSocket communication, avoid flooding the connection with high-frequency telemetry messages. Use topics subscribe judiciously to prevent overwhelming the agent's buffer.