Skip to main content
  1. Blog
  2. Article

Sarah Dickinson
on 16 April 2018

BotsAndUs build a social robot on Ubuntu


As robotics become increasingly prevalent in all sectors and expand outside the manufacturing industry, it is no surprise that IDC predicts worldwide spending on robotics to reach $103bn in 2018. A UK based startup, BotsAndUs, are looking to capitalise on this opportunity and have created an advanced social robot – Bo – primarily for use in hospitality and retail scenarios. Bo has already been used in numerous scenarios and by some large brands including BT and Etisalat as well as being trialled in large UK shopping centres such as Lakeside.

Creating a social robot that also has AI capabilities for advanced face to face interaction is no easy feat especially when a combination of hardware and software, including a RealSense Depth camera system and ROS, needs to be seamlessly integrated. For that reason, BotsAndUs required a widely supported and versatile OS so turned to Ubuntu to build Bo.

“Ubuntu’s versatility is superb. It gives us so much freedom when it comes to choosing hardware and software, and integrating the new technology with Bo is quick and easy.” Adrian Negoita, CTO, BotsAndUs

Download the case study below to find out more about how Ubuntu eased BotsAndUs path to production.







In submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to

Canonical’s Privacy Notice
and Privacy Policy.











Related posts


Canonical
20 April 2026

Canonical expands Ubuntu support to next-generation MediaTek Genio 520 and 720 platforms

edge computing Article

Canonical is pleased to announce the early access launch of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS for MediaTek’s Genio IoT platforms. Building on the companies’ strategic partnership, this release introduces optimized Ubuntu images for the brand-new Genio 520 and 720, while continuing to provide robust support for the Genio 350, 510, 700, and 1200.  The colla ...


Abdelrahman Hosny
21 May 2026

Developing web apps with local LLM inference

AI Article

I’ve yet to meet a developer that enjoys working with metered AI APIs. The need to pay for every API call in development works in direct opposition to the ethos of rapid iteration, and it’s easy for the costs to get out of hand. That’s why Canonical has created a different approach to building AI-powered ...


Gabriel Aguiar Noury
20 May 2026

A look into Ubuntu Core 26: Cloud-powered edge computing with AWS IoT Greengrass and Azure IoT Edge

Internet of Things Article

Welcome to this blog series which explores innovative uses of Ubuntu Core. Throughout this series, Canonical’s Engineers will show what you can build with this Core 26 release, highlighting the features and tools available to you.  In this first blog, Michael Croft-White, Engineer Director for Canonical’s Telemetry team, will show you how ...