ROS News for the week of March 9th, 2026
The call for proposals for the Toronto conference is open, with a major robotics meetup planned for NVIDIA GTC week.
The ROS (Robot Operating System) project's weekly community update for March 9th, 2026, is headlined by the official call for proposals for Global ROSCon 2026, set for Toronto in September. Key deadlines include diversity scholarship applications on March 22, workshop proposals on April 5, and the final presentation proposals on April 26. The announcement coincides with a major in-person event: a special 'ROS By the Bay' meetup on March 19 at Circuit Launch, expected to draw hundreds during the week of the NVIDIA GTC conference. The event will feature an array of speakers and live demos, highlighting the tight integration between advanced AI hardware and open-source robotics software.
Beyond events, the update showcases significant technical contributions. Developer Dmitri Manajev released a complete ROS 2 control stack for the SO-101 robotic arm, merging the existing HuggingFace project with ROS-based tools for seamless integration. The community also spotlighted an open-source tactile sensing setup for grippers using a Teensy microcontroller and a web app for visualizing uncertainty in robot odometry. Furthermore, core developers are revamping the weekly 'Waffle Meeting' for better community access, complete with a new dashboard and contributor leaderboard coded by @mjcarroll. A lengthy global events list, spanning hackathons, meetups, and summer schools from Nigeria to Sweden through November 2026, underscores the platform's explosive worldwide growth.
- Global ROSCon 2026 in Toronto has opened its call for proposals, with key deadlines from March 22 to April 26.
- A major 'ROS By the Bay' meetup for hundreds is scheduled for March 19 during NVIDIA GTC week, featuring demos and speakers.
- Developer Dmitri Manajev released a full ROS 2 integration for the SO-101 arm, bridging HuggingFace AI models with robotic control.
Why It Matters
This surge in global events and tools marks a pivotal expansion for ROS 2, crucial for professionals building the next generation of physical AI and robots.