ROS, or Robot Operating System, is an open-source framework designed to help developers create robot software. It provides tools, libraries, and conventions that simplify the process of building complex robotic systems. By using ROS, developers can focus on writing code for specific tasks rather than dealing with low-level hardware interactions. ROS supports various programming languages, primarily Python and C++, and is widely used in both academic and industrial robotics. It enables communication between different parts of a robot, allowing for modular design and easier collaboration among developers. This flexibility has made ROS a popular choice for research and commercial applications in robotics.