robotmem_ros

ROS 2 node for robotmem — robot experience memory system.

Learn once, remember forever, transfer across environments.

Packages

Package	Description
robotmem_ros	ROS 2 node — 7 Services + 1 Topic + Ready signal
robotmem_msgs	Message and service definitions (Memory, PerceptionData, NodeStatus)

Installation

From source (colcon)

# Install robotmem Python package
pip install robotmem

# Clone and build
cd ~/ros2_ws/src
git clone https://github.com/robotmem/robotmem_ros.git
cd ~/ros2_ws
colcon build --packages-select robotmem_msgs robotmem_ros
source install/setup.bash

From apt (coming soon)

# 1. Install robotmem Python library (pip dependency, not in apt)
pip install robotmem

# 2. Install ROS 2 packages
sudo apt install ros-humble-robotmem-ros ros-humble-robotmem-msgs

Note: robotmem is a pip-only dependency. The ROS apt packages do not automatically pull it in. You must install it separately with pip install robotmem.

Quick Start

# Launch with defaults
ros2 launch robotmem_ros robotmem.launch.py

# Launch with custom collection
ros2 launch robotmem_ros robotmem.launch.py collection:=robot1

# Launch with namespace (multi-robot)
ros2 launch robotmem_ros robotmem.launch.py ns:=/robot1 collection:=robot1

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
db_path	"" (= ~/.robotmem/memory.db)	Database file path
collection	"default"	Memory collection name
embed_backend	"onnx"	Embedding backend: onnx / ollama / none
perception_qos	"reliable"	Perception topic QoS: reliable / best_effort
perception_batch_size	50	Batch size for perception writes
perception_flush_interval	1.0	Flush interval in seconds

Services

Service	Type	Description
~/learn	Learn	Record a new experience/insight
~/recall	Recall	Retrieve relevant memories (BM25 + vector hybrid)
~/save_perception	SavePerception	Store perception/trajectory/force data
~/forget	Forget	Mark a memory as superseded
~/update	Update	Modify an existing memory
~/start_session	StartSession	Begin an episode session
~/end_session	EndSession	End session (auto-consolidate + proactive recall)

Topics

Topic	Type	Direction	Description
~/perception	PerceptionData	Subscribe	High-frequency perception stream (batched writes)
~/ready	NodeStatus	Publish	Node health signal (TRANSIENT_LOCAL)

Architecture

robotmem_ros Node
├── 7 Services (SDK thin wrapper)
│   ├── learn/recall/save_perception  (core API)
│   ├── forget/update                 (memory management)
│   └── start_session/end_session     (episode lifecycle)
├── PerceptionBuffer (batch + seq gap detection + backpressure)
├── CallbackGroups (read/write separation)
│   ├── MutuallyExclusive: write operations
│   ├── Reentrant: recall (read)
│   └── Reentrant: perception stream
└── Ready signal (TRANSIENT_LOCAL QoS)

Supported Distributions

• ROS 2 Humble (Ubuntu 22.04)
• ROS 2 Jazzy (Ubuntu 24.04)
• ROS 2 Rolling

License

Apache-2.0