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InOrbit adds Config as Code features to its RobOps solution. | Credit: InOrbit

InOrbit is adding additional capabilities and best practices for robot operations (RobOps) with the recent launch of Configuration as Code.

As part of InOrbit’s ongoing efforts to support interoperable and developer-friendly initiatives, code examples and schemas have been published to GitHub so developers can start exploring immediately.

Development teams have opportunities to get even more out of the InOrbit platform with Configuration as Code:

• Version control of code changes
• Improved workflows: pull requests, code review, approvals
• CI/CD integration
• Reusable and reproducible configurations
• Rollback capabilities
• Security enhancements
• Auditing and traceability
• Software parameterization

These tools are available now on the InOrbit Developer Portal.

Software engineers know the importance of DevOps as a standard part of the software development process. DevOps enables engineers to streamline their development workflow with software automation to build and manage code releases.

InOrbit was one of the first companies to adopt the best practices of software DevOps to the unique needs of robot development teams. The company made their DevOps solution simple to use and easy to adopt through a tiered licensing portfolio, which starts with a free tier that anyone can download and try.

RobOps goes beyond the creation and troubleshooting of the robot code. Many robot companies are adopting Robots as a Service (RaaS) as an operational business model. As the sophistication, scale and complexity of robot deployments grow, the need to manage robots effectively becomes more critical. This requires robust practices and tooling to automate the robot management process.

Common pain points that hinder and delay effective operational solutions are found throughout the development process. Development of robotics software is time-consuming, manually driven and prone to human error. Now, the same software and engineering best practices that enable the operations of massive data centers, including managing infrastructure as code, source-controlled configurations, Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (CI/CID) pipelines and more are within reach of every company using InOrbit to manage and operate their robots.

Often, different robots require different configurations. This gives rise to ad hoc and hard-to-maintain tools and processes created by robot developers. Additionally, companies using robots in their operations, many times from multiple vendors, require flexible capabilities to configure and deploy robots. That’s why InOrbit has introduced Configuration as Code to give developers the granular control they need.

“We want to create RobOps tools that solve problems, streamline processes and can be incorporated as part of the development workflow,” said Julian Cerruti, CTO and co-founder of InOrbit. “Support for Configuration as Code enables developers with the benefits precise robot configurations offer, leveraging the power of the InOrbit platform to better manage the development cycle.”