ROS News for the Week of February 16th, 2026
The 2025 metrics report shows ROS 2 package downloads surged 85%, signaling the end of ROS 1.
The Open Robotics community, led by Katherine Scott, released its 2025 ROS Metrics Report, showcasing the definitive shift to ROS 2. The data is stark: annual package downloads are approaching 1 billion, marking an 85% increase. Crucially, ROS 2 now accounts for over 90% of all ROS downloads, signaling the operational end of the ROS 1 era. The report coincides with a packed community calendar, including a Gazebo meeting on generating terrains from satellite data, a ROS By-The-Bay meetup with speakers from Dronecode and Polymath Robotics, and the announcement of ROSCon France in Paris. Technical highlights include a new blog post on building ROS 2 interfaces for affordable Feetech servos and the release of GSeg3D, a high-precision ground segmentation package for autonomous vehicles.
- ROS 2 annual downloads near 1 billion, showing 85% year-over-year growth.
- ROS 2 now represents over 90% of all ROS downloads, completely overshadowing ROS 1.
- Community events ramp up with ROSCon France announced and technical deep-dives on hardware integration.
Why It Matters
This solidifies ROS 2 as the global standard for robotics development, guiding investment and tooling for the entire industry.