MoveIt 2

Motion planning framework for ROS 2 robot arms, with kinematics and collision checking

License

BSD-3-Clause

Overview

MoveIt 2 is the ROS 2 version of MoveIt, open-source software for robotic manipulation. It provides motion planning with planners such as OMPL, STOMP and CHOMP, collision checking, inverse kinematics and trajectory execution. The MoveIt Setup Assistant helps configure a robot arm, and perception input such as point clouds and depth cameras can be integrated.

MoveIt 2 is the ROS 2 version of MoveIt, the most widely used open-source software for robotic manipulation. It provides an easy-to-use platform for motion planning, manipulation, 3D perception, kinematics, control, and navigation.

Key features include: - Motion planning with multiple algorithms (OMPL, STOMP, CHOMP) - Collision detection and avoidance - Inverse kinematics solvers - Trajectory execution and monitoring - Integration with perception (point clouds, depth cameras) - MoveIt Setup Assistant for easy configuration - Support for various robot arms out of the box

MoveIt 2 is used by thousands of robotics researchers and companies for applications ranging from pick-and-place to complex assembly tasks. It's a foundational tool for anyone building manipulation applications.

Why it matters

MoveIt 2 is the manipulation framework for ROS 2 — it is what makes robot arms useful. Providing motion planning, collision checking, grasping, and kinematics in one package, it is deployed on more production robot arms than any other open-source framework.

Problem it solves

Making a robot arm move intelligently — avoiding obstacles, planning paths, executing trajectories — requires integrating many complex subsystems. MoveIt 2 provides all of this as a tested, maintained package.

Key takeaways

• Complete motion planning framework for ROS 2 robot arms
• Integration with OMPL for state-of-the-art planning algorithms
• Collision checking, IK solving, and trajectory execution
• MoveIt Setup Assistant for easy robot configuration
• Used in production by major robotics companies

Who it is for

• Robotics engineers deploying manipulation systems
• Companies building ROS 2-based robot arms
• Researchers needing reliable manipulation infrastructure
• Students learning robot manipulation programming

Limitations

• Configuration can be complex for non-standard robots
• Real-time performance requires careful setup
• Learning curve for understanding the full planning pipeline
• Some advanced features require custom development