An Empirical Study of Interaction Bugs in ROS-based Software

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Chen, Zhixiang, Chen, Zhuangbin, Cai, Xingjie, Li, Wei, Zheng, Zibin
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Chen, Zhixiang
Chen, Zhuangbin
Cai, Xingjie
Li, Wei
Zheng, Zibin
author_facet Chen, Zhixiang
Chen, Zhuangbin
Cai, Xingjie
Li, Wei
Zheng, Zibin
contents Modern robotic systems integrate multiple independent software and hardware components, each responsible for distinct functionalities such as perception, decision-making, and execution. These components interact extensively to accomplish complex end-to-end tasks. As a result, the overall system reliability depends not only on the correctness of individual components, but also on the correctness of their interactions. Failures often manifest at the boundaries between components, yet interaction-related reliability issues in robotics--referred to here as interaction bugs (iBugs)--remain underexplored. This work presents an empirical study of iBugs within robotic systems built using the Robot Operating System (ROS), a widely adopted open-source robotics framework. A total of 121 iBugs were analyzed across ten actively maintained and representative ROS projects. The identified iBugs are categorized into three major types: intra-system iBugs, hardware iBugs, and environmental iBugs, covering a broad range of interaction scenarios in robotics. The analysis includes an examination of root causes, fixing strategies, and the impact of these bugs. Several findingsa are derived that shed light on the nature of iBugs and suggest directions for improving their prevention and detection. These insights aim to inform the design of more robust and safer robotic systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_10235
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An Empirical Study of Interaction Bugs in ROS-based Software
Chen, Zhixiang
Chen, Zhuangbin
Cai, Xingjie
Li, Wei
Zheng, Zibin
Software Engineering
Modern robotic systems integrate multiple independent software and hardware components, each responsible for distinct functionalities such as perception, decision-making, and execution. These components interact extensively to accomplish complex end-to-end tasks. As a result, the overall system reliability depends not only on the correctness of individual components, but also on the correctness of their interactions. Failures often manifest at the boundaries between components, yet interaction-related reliability issues in robotics--referred to here as interaction bugs (iBugs)--remain underexplored. This work presents an empirical study of iBugs within robotic systems built using the Robot Operating System (ROS), a widely adopted open-source robotics framework. A total of 121 iBugs were analyzed across ten actively maintained and representative ROS projects. The identified iBugs are categorized into three major types: intra-system iBugs, hardware iBugs, and environmental iBugs, covering a broad range of interaction scenarios in robotics. The analysis includes an examination of root causes, fixing strategies, and the impact of these bugs. Several findingsa are derived that shed light on the nature of iBugs and suggest directions for improving their prevention and detection. These insights aim to inform the design of more robust and safer robotic systems.
title An Empirical Study of Interaction Bugs in ROS-based Software
topic Software Engineering
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.10235