The Howdy Glossary

URBI is a specialized programming language and platform developed by Gostai for controlling robots, emphasizing real-time control and responsiveness crucial for behavior-based robotics. It integrates a C++ core with urbiscript, a BASIC-derived scripting language, facilitating ease of use across varying skill levels. By abstracting hardware details through middleware capabilities, URBI enables seamless programming for robots from different manufacturers, serving both academic research and commercial applications such as educational robotics and professional service robots.

The platform was created to streamline robot control, enhancing development efficiency across various settings from academia to industry. URBI's fusion of robust core technologies with user-friendly scripting allows it to cater to the nuanced requirements of robot control effectively. This design facilitates flexibility in developing robotic applications while insulating users from the complexities of specific hardware configurations. Its versatility has led to widespread adoption in academic research projects and commercial uses, reflecting its practicality and adaptability in the robotics domain.

URBI separates itself from competitors like ROS (Robot Operating System), LabVIEW, and ABB's RobotStudio by focusing on behavior-based robotics with real-time control and reactivity as central tenets. This focus ensures superior robot performance in dynamic environments. The integration of a C++ core with urbiscript provides diverse programming options while middleware capabilities simplify cross-robot compatibility issues. These features make URBI uniquely suited for both educational purposes and professional deployments, highlighting its comprehensive utility as a robust solution within the competitive field of robotic programming languages and platforms.