Three days of technical excellence and community collaboration
Working in specialist robotics communications means staying closely connected to the technical developments shaping our clients’ work. So when we heard that ROSCon UK was coming to Edinburgh, we were first in line.
The conference is curated for robotics software developers working in Robot Operating System (ROS), an open-source middleware framework that provides a set of tools, libraries, and conventions for building robot software applications, rather than an actual operating system.
Several themes emerged from this year’s event that have broader implications for the robotics industry:
Ecosystem maturity: The aerial robotics landscape presentation demonstrated how far the community has come in organising and documenting available tools and resources. This reduces barriers to entry whilst enabling more sophisticated applications.
Development efficiency: Solutions like CPPYY show the community’s focus on practical tools that improve developer productivity. The ability to prototype rapidly whilst maintaining performance is increasingly important as robotics applications become more complex.
Safety and reliability: The growing adoption of languages like Rust reflects the industry’s increasing focus on safety-critical applications. As robots move into more sensitive environments, the ability to provide stronger safety guarantees becomes essential.
Community collaboration: The consistent theme across all presentations was the value of open-source collaboration. The robotics community continues to build shared infrastructure that benefits everyone, from academic researchers to commercial developers. Developers freely shared challenges, solutions, and insights across organisational boundaries. This open exchange of knowledge is one of ROS’s greatest strengths and a key factor in its widespread adoption.
Attending ROSCon UK 2025 reinforced for me the importance of staying connected to the developer community while working in robotics communications. The technical innovations discussed represent the foundation for the next generation of autonomous systems.
For companies developing robotics technologies, understanding these trends is crucial. The tools developers choose, the languages they adopt, and the frameworks they build upon will shape what’s possible in the coming years.
Communication strategies need to reflect this technical reality whilst making the implications clear to broader audiences, including end users, governments and investors. As specialist robotics communicators, our role is to ensure these innovations receive the recognition they deserve, not just within developer conferences, but among the stakeholders who need to understand the transformative potential of these technologies.
Hot Tin Roof is a specialist robotics and autonomous systems communications agency. We work with leading robotics companies to communicate complex technical innovations to investors, customers, and media. Contact us to discuss how we can help tell your story.
