Introduction to Gsoc 2026 for project #7

[Sarvesh-Mishra1981]

Hello Jderobotics Team, @jmplaza,

My name is Devesh Mishra, and I am currently a third-year undergraduate student. I have been actively contributing to the JdeRobot ecosystem with a focused interest in containerization, backend infrastructure, and system-level optimization.

For GSoC 2026, I am particularly interested in Project #7 (Robotics Academy: Exploring optimization strategies for the RoboticsBackend container). I have already merged two pull requests directly related to Docker infrastructure — one resolving a Docker VNC issue and another fixing Docker build failures on macOS. These contributions required debugging cross-platform inconsistencies, understanding the container layering structure, and ensuring reproducible builds across environments.

Currently, I am working on further Docker optimizations, analyzing build layers, dependency weight, and image structure to identify potential reductions in build time and image size. I am exploring strategies such as layer restructuring, dependency pruning, and evaluating lighter alternatives for heavy components wherever feasible. Given my hands-on experience with the RoboticsBackend container, troubleshooting build pipelines, and improving cross-platform stability, I believe I am strongly aligned with the objectives of Project #7.

I would greatly appreciate guidance on the next steps I should take to deepen my preparation — whether that involves benchmarking the current image build process, experimenting with minimal variants of specific components, analyzing dependency trees, or exploring Podman-based workflows. I am eager to take on more targeted tasks that would further strengthen my proposal and demonstrate meaningful progress toward the goals of this project.

I am currently preparing a detailed and technically grounded proposal for Project #7 and look forward to receiving feedback from the mentors as I refine my plan. I am highly motivated to contribute to making the RoboticsBackend container more efficient, maintainable, and accessible for the community.