Applying Software Static Analysis to ROS: The Case Study of the FASTEN European Project

Published in Iberian Robotics Conference (ROBOT), 2019

Recommended citation: T. Neto, R. Arrais, A. Sousa, A. Santos, G. Veiga. (2019). "Applying Software Static Analysis to ROS: The Case Study of the FASTEN European Project." ROBOT 2019. 632-644.

Abstract: Modern industry is shifting towards flexible, advanced robotic systems to meet the increasing demand for custom-made products with low manufacturing costs and to promote a collaborative environment for humans and robots. As a consequence of this industrial revolution, some traditional, mechanical- and hardware-based safety mechanisms are discarded in favour of a safer, more dependable robot software. This work presents a case study of assessing and improving the internal quality of a European research mobile manipulator, operating in a real industrial environment, using modern static analysis tools geared for robotic software. Following an iterative approach, we managed to fix about 90% of the reported issues, resulting in code that is easier to use and maintain.

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