Show HN: RoboAPI – A unified REST API for robots, like Stripe but for hardware https://ift.tt/JkQVGfF

Show HN: RoboAPI – A unified REST API for robots, like Stripe but for hardware Every robot manufacturer ships a different SDK and a different protocol. A Boston Dynamics Spot speaks nothing like a Universal Robots arm. Every team building on top of robots rewrites the same integration layer from scratch. This is a massive tax on the industry. RoboAPI is a unified API layer that abstracts all of that into one clean developer experience. One SDK, one API key, any robot — simulated or real hardware. You can connect a simulated robot and read live telemetry in under 5 minutes: pip install fastapi uvicorn roslibpy uvicorn api.main:app --reload curl -X POST localhost:8000/v1/robots/connect -d '{"robot_id":"bot-01","brand":"simulated"}' curl localhost:8000/v1/robots/bot-01/sense It also connects to real ROS2 robots via rosbridge — I tested it today controlling a turtlesim robot drawing circles through the API. The architecture is pluggable — each robot brand is a separate adapter implementing a common interface (like a payment gateway in Stripe). Adding a new brand means one file. Currently supports: simulated robots and any ROS2 robot. Boston Dynamics and Universal Robots adapters are next. Would love feedback from anyone working in robotics — especially on the API design and what's missing for real-world use. https://ift.tt/FwAvYkc April 25, 2026 at 12:16AM