Willow Garage

Willow Garage was a robotics research lab and technology incubator founded by Scott Hassan in 2006 in Menlo Park, California. The company focused on advancing personal robotics through the development of both hardware and open-source software. Willow Garage is best known for creating the Robot Operating System (ROS), an open-source robotics middleware framework released in 2010 that quickly became the global standard for robotics research and development.

The company also developed the PR2 robot, a versatile research platform equipped with advanced sensors and manipulators, widely used in academia and industry for robotics experimentation. Willow Garage’s vision was to accelerate robotics innovation by fostering an open-source ecosystem and providing standardized hardware and software tools.

Willow Garage contributed significantly to robotics research with projects including autonomous vehicles for the DARPA Grand Challenge and autonomous oceanographic boats. The company ceased operations in early 2014, with many employees moving to Suitable Technologies and support for ROS transitioning to Clearpath Robotics. Despite its closure, Willow Garage’s legacy continues through ROS and its impact on the robotics community.

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• PR2 Robot: A two-armed mobile manipulation platform designed for research and development in robotics, capable of autonomous navigation, manipulation, and human-robot interaction.
• TurtleBot: An affordable, open-source mobile robot platform widely used for education and research.
• Texai: A remote presence system prototype developed by Willow Garage.

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Willow Garage specialized in personal robotics hardware and open-source software platforms that enable research and development in autonomous navigation, manipulation, perception, and human-robot interaction. Their focus was on creating standardized, modular, and extensible tools to accelerate robotics innovation globally.

• Early pioneer in open-source robotics software, establishing ROS as a universal standard.
• Developed widely adopted research platforms (PR2, TurtleBot) that lowered barriers to robotics experimentation.
• Strong community and ecosystem built around ROS, sustaining innovation beyond company lifespan.
• Ceased operations in 2014 but legacy maintained through successor organizations and open-source projects.
• Limited commercial revenue; business model focused on research and community development rather than product sales.
• Impact measured more by technological influence than direct profitability.

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