[ngvrnd]

They're not shutting down, they're merging with a sister startup. AFAICT, this means: they won't be making any more PR2's. ROS is open source, seems like lots of grad students are using it. Probably it will continue to be developed and improved. Maybe it will become the "unix and C" of robotics.

[mturmon]

ROS has really influenced the way robotics research is done at the lab where I work. A cohort of recent grads came in and replaced a lot of ad-hoc formats with ROS bags. It's also being used to exchange data and standardize interfaces in some DoD-funded work (i.e., not just student projects).

[lowkey]

If I understand correctly, ROS development will continue and the core ROS team are being migrated over to the OSRF, another organization started by the same founder.

source: A friend works at the Open Source Robotics Foundation (osrfoundation.org)