SUSE Robotics

Description

A strategic collaboration between SUSE and an hardware partner to create an enterprise-grade, open-source robotic platform. The project combines SUSE’s expertise in Linux, containerization, and lifecycle management with an hardware partner’ advanced robotics, AI, and sensor technologies.

The result: a modular, secure, and scalable foundation for industrial, healthcare, and service robots.

Goals

• Develop a certified robotic stack integrating ROS 2, K3s, and SUSE Linux Enterprise for real-world deployment.
• Establish an enterprise certification framework for robotics software and hardware compliance.
• Launch joint go-to-market pilots showcasing reliable, maintainable, and AI-ready robotic solutions.

Resources

• SUSE: Linux infrastructure, security/lifecycle tooling, cloud-edge integration, QA and certification pipeline.
• an hardware partner: robotic hardware, actuators, AI control systems, and prototyping lab.
• Shared: R&D engineering team, dedicated test environments, co-marketing assets, and strategic funding for early pilots.

Hackweek STEP

Build the First “SUSE-Enabled Robotics Stack” Prototype

Create a minimal, end-to-end prototype that demonstrates a robot running on SUSE Linux + K3s + ROS 2, packaged as a reproducible developer environment for future expansion.

Scope

• Run ROS 2 (Humble/Iron) on openSUSE or SLE Micro.
• Deploy ROS 2 nodes as containers orchestrated by K3s.
• Provide one hardware-agnostic demo (e.g., teleop + sensor simulation).
• Package everything into a single Git repository with scripts, manifests, and documentation.

Deliverables

1. SUSE Robotics Base Image
   • OCI image with ROS 2 + dependencies built and tested on SUSE.
2. K3s-based Deployment Template
   • Helm charts or YAML to run ROS 2 nodes inside K3s pods.
3. Demo Application
   • Simple robot simulation (Gazebo or Ignition) + teleoperation + sensor data flow.
4. Developer Onboarding Guide
   • How to build, deploy, and run the robot stack on SUSE in under 10 minutes.

Outcome

A functional and shareable foundation that proves SUSE can power a full robotic pipeline, enabling follow-up work with an hardware partner and other partners.