Has it been two weeks already? In many ways it feels like the last post was just yesterday, and in just as many it feels like it was months ago. That’s how busy we’ve been: time has lost all meaning.
Not all time, though. One particular interval is very much front of mind; we are all too aware that ROSCon Global in Toronto starts two weeks from today. Two. Weeks. If you’re not going, you might be wondering: why all this fuss for a three-day event? The fuss is because everything that happens at ROSCon resonates through our ecosystem before, during, and long after the conference. We take that very seriously.
As you’ve already guessed (and as I foreshadowed in the last update), yup, we worked on conference stuff. We’ve moved to a different survey software provider, which has allowed us to set up our first ever Open Robotics Survey. It’ll be ready in time for ROSCon, but we’ll want to hear from you even if you can’t join us in Toronto (so you can look forward to us frequently reminding you to fill it in).
There are a number of other operational things we’re trying to get squared away in advance of the event. We’re working on ways to enable more people to share stories to Open Robotics social networks and on the OSRA blog, including rolling out a spiffy link shortener of our very own. Some of these things have been in the works for a while and we’re looking forward to getting them off our plates…er, I mean we’re looking forward to sharing them with you all!
You would not believe how much of the past two weeks was spent working with our many, many ROSCon sponsors, not to mention paying our own conference vendors, signing contracts, approving marketing materials and signage, verifying catering, reviewing slides… It’s a lot, but it’s worth it. All this work helps the entire community and is why we’re here.
Did I say signing contracts? I did, didn’t I? That’s because we not only have a city for ROSCon Global 2027, we have a venue! It’s gorgeous, and that’s all I’ll say about that. Come to Toronto to hear us spill the beans during the closing remarks.
And, of course, there’s plenty of non-event stuff that still has to happen. The audit continues its interminable march toward completion. We’re finishing up conversations with several new OSRA members. We’re meeting with technical committees to move the tech strategy and security policy forward.
These have been some of the highlights from this past week for your Open Robotics leadership team. We’ll be back with our next update after ROSCon Global, on September 29th.