ROSCon UK 2025, held from 15-17 September at the University of Edinburgh, was a vibrant gathering of robotics enthusiasts, researchers, and technicians. The event offered a rich mix of tours, workshops, and networking opportunities, all set against the backdrop of one of the UK’s most historic cities. 

Day 1: Tours and Demos 

The conference kicked off with a tour of the Bayes Centre, including the Living Lab and Field Trials Lab. Highlights included seeing a NASA Valkyrie robot and one of the original PR2 robots from Willow Garage. The labs showcased advanced setups like motion tracking with Vicon cameras and exoskeleton testing on split-track treadmills.  

The evening’s informal networking at BrewDog on Lothian Road was a chance to connect with the Locus Robotics team and others. Their contributions to open-source robotics were inspiring and sparked a personal goal to contribute more to the community. 

Day 2: Workshops and Gala Dinner 

Two standout workshops provided hands-on learning: 

• State Estimation with Tom Moore (Locus Robotics):
  This session demystified robot navigation using Nav2 packages and introduced tools like robot_localization and fuse. It also served as a wake-up call to finally understand Kalman filters! 

• ROS2 Control with Dr. Bence Magyar:
  A long-awaited deep dive into ROS2 Control, which simplifies switching between simulation and real-world robots. The workshop confirmed its relevance for upcoming projects. 

The Gala Dinner at the Playfair Library was a visual and social highlight – an elegant venue for connecting with other UKRAS STEPS technicians. 

Day 3: Conference and Demos 

Dr. Steve Cousins opened the final day with a keynote on the history of ROS and its academic-industry ties. Lightning talks and demos followed, including a fully autonomous Formula Student car – exciting to see Leeds working on a similar project. 

Key takeaways included funding opportunities via ARIA, mechanical design resources from the University of Lincoln, and the importance of technician outreach – highlighted by chance meetings with new STEPS techs from Edinburgh. 

Final Thoughts 

ROSCon UK 2025 was well-organised, educational, and full of opportunities to connect. The workshops were particularly valuable, offering practical insights that will shape future robotics projects.  

It was great to try out some of the latest ROS software at the workshops, see some of the leading Robotics facilities and meet many of the people leading robotics software in the UK. Thoroughly recommended! Thanks to UK RAS STEPS for funding a group of us to attend.