UK tech supplier Scan Computers and Sheffield-based startup OLO Robotics have announced a partnership aimed at solving one of robotics’ most persistent and expensive headaches: the soul-crushing complexity of the Robot Operating System (ROS). The collaboration pairs Scan’s extensive lineup of Unitree quadruped and humanoid robots with OLO’s browser-based software, promising to get sophisticated machines doing useful work without first having to hire a team of unobtanium-grade ROS engineers.
At the heart of the deal is OLO’s clever software platform, which acts as a universal translator for humans who don’t dream in C++ and Python libraries. It runs on top of the powerful but notoriously challenging ROS 2 framework, abstracting its complexity into a user-friendly interface for simulation, teleoperation, and programming that can be accessed from any web browser. This means a customer can purchase, for instance, a Unitree Go2 quadruped from Scan and, as OLO Robotics COO Eleanor Tang-Smith puts it, “go from unboxing to autonomous navigation” without writing a single line of complex code. This approach directly targets the skills gap that often leaves very expensive, very capable robots gathering dust.
Scan, an NVIDIA Elite Partner, offers a robotics portfolio spanning hardware, simulation, AI infrastructure and technical support. Pairing that hardware with OLO’s platform brings the equipment and the software needed to use it closer together for academic research, industrial inspection, and rapid prototyping. The open-source ROS 2 project provides the foundation, while OLO provides the accessibility layer.