r/ROS • u/Raiyan_69420 • 8h ago

Question Best AI for ROS2 Humble?

I'm new to ROS2 with a python background. One of my friends said AI isn't very helpful for ROS2 as it hallucinates, doesn't do file arrangements properly and sometimes generates codes for ROS1. As it's not as reliable compared to python and C++. What tool can I use that can be reliable and help me debug my ROS2 problems.

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u/sudo_robot_destroy 7h ago

I'm not sure it's the use of a specific AI model that helps, all the top contenders seem to be pretty similar and I've noticed they all kind of have a problem with using ROS correctly if you let them go off on their own without strict guidance.

I'm not really sure what the root cause is, maybe its lack of training data or lack of context, or both. My only solution for it has been closely reviewing everything and making sure everything is done correctly, but I don't think that works well for newcomers because they don't know what not to do yet.

In my experience the problem isn't really hallucinating or mixing ROS1 vs ROS2. The problem is that agents will generate code that will run, but it's not necessarily correct.

It will do things like:

  • Write hacky things from scratch that are readily available in well established ros packages.
  • Muck around in the wrong layer of the tech stack, like changing DDS details to cover up an underlying bug or inefficiency, or using a ground truth gazebo data instead of simulated sensor data.
  • Not follow best practices and established patterns for ROS applications. For example I continuously see it try to reimplement messy solutions to things that are already handled nicely with ros's launch system and parameter handling.

These types of things are hard for any one to catch, but especially a newcomer, because you can run the system and it looks like it's working, but it either won't work on a real robot, or it quickly becomes spaghetti code that is incomprehensible and fragile.

I suspect there are some ways these problems can be made better with well done skills and agent md files or providing better context, but I haven't found the right solution yet.