Thomas Unise
InOrbit has announced plans to contribute OpenRobOps (ORO) to the open-source community, offering developers a standardized foundation for robot fleet management and operations. This initiative aims to solve the “build vs. buy” dilemma that has hindered robotics companies from scaling effectively.
Key Features of OpenRobOps
OpenRobOps will provide a transparent, self-hostable foundation for robot observability and management. Built on InOrbit’s proven platform that has already managed thousands of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), the software will be released under a full open-source license later this year.
The system fills a significant gap in the open-source robotics ecosystem by offering a fleet manager that works seamlessly with Robot Operating System (ROS) on devices and Open RMF as the coordination framework. This standardization is designed to help robotics developers avoid reinventing core operational infrastructure.
Transition Path for Growing Companies
InOrbit has created a clear upgrade path for users. Developers starting with OpenRobOps can transition to InOrbit Ground Control as their needs grow, allowing them to upgrade without changing their underlying data architectures. Ground Control offers a fully-managed, cloud-based solution for companies focusing on deploying robots at scale.
Industry Veteran Steve Cousins Joins Board
Alongside the OpenRobOps announcement, InOrbit appointed Steve Cousins to its board of directors. Cousins brings significant open-source experience as a founding board member of the Open Source Robotics Foundation and former CEO of Willow Garage, where he helped lead ROS development. His experience commercializing ROS through Savioke (later Relay Robotics) positions him well to guide InOrbit’s open-source strategy.
Industry Support
The announcement has received positive feedback from across the robotics ecosystem:
- Geoffrey Biggs, CTO at Open Robotics, highlighted how OpenRobOps fills an important role with its native support for ROS and Open RMF
- Brian Gerkey, CTO at Intrinsic (an Alphabet company), compared OpenRobOps’ potential impact to how ROS provided core building blocks for robot researchers
- Felipe Garcia Lopez from Kärcher called it a “true game changer for the industry”
- Support also came from Ekumen, the Technical University of Munich, and Robotic Crew
Timeline and Community Focus
Following its Series A funding in September 2025, InOrbit plans a phased release approach for OpenRobOps. The company will first provide access to select early adopters before making it generally available later this year. InOrbit CEO Florian Pestoni emphasized that “open-source projects are only as strong as their community” and promised additional channels to engage with the broader robotics community.
Conclusion
OpenRobOps represents a significant step toward standardizing robot fleet management, potentially eliminating a major bottleneck in scaling robot deployments. By providing open-source access to core operational infrastructure, InOrbit aims to democratize robot operations while still offering a commercial path for companies requiring advanced functionality and support.
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