Unitree G1
Bipedal humanoid robot by Unitree Robotics, designed as a compact research, development, and developer platform.
Applications
- Research
- Home Assistance
Active Open source Real-time capable API available ROS
CATEGORYROS / ROS 2 · Middleware
READINESSTRL 9
ADOPTION SCALEIndustry Standard
LICENSESEPL-2.0
FIRST RELEASE2019
DDSCyclone DDSEclipseROS 2MiddlewareOpen SourceRTPSDistributed Systems
Eclipse Cyclone DDS is a high-performance implementation of the Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard, originally developed by ADLINK (since 2017) and contributed to the Eclipse Foundation in 2019. Cyclone DDS is one of the two primary RMW (ROS Middleware) implementations used by ROS 2, alongside Fast DDS by eProsima.
The Cyclone DDS architecture focuses on low resource usage (single thread, ~2 MB RAM minimum), determinism, and full compliance with OMG DDS Specification 1.4. It implements the full QoS profile, RTPS 2.5 transport over UDP/TCP, dynamic and static discovery, and DDS Security (DDS-XRCE handled separately by Zenoh-Pico).
Cyclone DDS is the default RMW in ROS 2 Galactic and still supported in Humble (RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_cyclonedds_cpp). It is used by Apex.OS, the Autoware project (autonomous driving), AWS RoboMaker, and many internal defense systems. SRPC, REST API, and a Zenoh bridge are also supported.
Type & Roles
Software types
Middleware
Middleware is a software layer that mediates between applications, services, sensors, drivers, and execution layers. In robotics, middleware is typically responsible for inter-process communication, message passing, hardware abstraction, and module integration within a single system. The most widely used robotics middleware is ROS (Robot Operating System), which provides a publish-subscribe message bus, service calls, and a rich ecosystem of packages.
Transport Layer
A Transport Layer is the software layer responsible for data transmission between elements of a robotic or software system — such as processes, nodes, devices, and services. It handles serialisation, routing, reliability, and latency guarantees for messages. In robotics examples include DDS (Data Distribution Service) used by ROS 2, LCM (Lightweight Communications and Marshalling), ZeroMQ, and proprietary message buses on embedded platforms.
Select an item to see its description.
Main category
MiddlewareRuntime & Infrastructure
Roles in robotics ecosystem
Developer Enablement
Device Integration
Device Integration denotes the role of software responsible for communication, configuration, initialization and handling of specific devices, sensors, controllers or hardware components within a robotic system.
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Software family
Family
ROS 2 Ecosystem
Maturity & Adoption
9 / 9
Proven in operational conditions
ResearchPrototypeProduction
Adoption scaleIndustry Standard
Maintenance statusMaintained by Foundation
First release2019
Last update25 September 2024
Deployments
Autoware (autonomous driving), Apex.OS, AWS RoboMaker, ROS 2 Galactic (default RMW), ADLINK defense systems.
Community
450+ GitHub contributors, 1.4k stars, used in 100+ autonomous robotics projects.
Organizations
Related robotics software
R2
ROS 2
Open-source framework for building robot software. The successor to ROS 1, built on DDS with native support for distributed, real-time and multi-platform systems. The de facto standard in research and commercial robotics.
R2
ROS 2 Humble Hawksbill
LTS release of the ROS 2 framework based on Ubuntu 22.04, supported through May 2027. The most widely deployed release in humanoids, AMRs, and research platforms. Full integration with Nav2, MoveIt 2 and ros2_control.
Supported robot models
Target robotic platforms
Humanoid
Quadruped
Mobile Robot
Robotic Arm
Industrial Robot
Research Robot
Drone / UAV
ROS supportCompatibility with ROS / ROS 2 ecosystem
Official ROS 2 PackagePakiet dostępny w oficjalnym rejestrze ROS 2 przez rosdep / apt (packages.ros.org)
System capabilities
⊙
Open source
Source code is publicly available under an open-source license — enables security audits, custom modifications, and integration without licensing barriers.
✓
⚡
Real-time capable
Designed with timing-determinism guarantees — meets the requirements of control loops, safety systems, and tasks demanding low, predictable latency.
✓
⟨/⟩
API available
The software exposes a programmable interface (REST, gRPC, SDK, or language bindings) that enables automation and integration with other systems.
✓
📦
Pre-built / binary
Distributed as ready-to-use binary packages, container images, or installers — no need to build from source.
✓
Programming languages
CC++PythonRust
Operating systems
Ubuntu 22.04Ubuntu 20.04DebianJetPack LinuxWindowsmacOS
Minimum hardware requirements
Minimum hardware requirements
CPUAny 32/64-bit (ARM, x86, RISC-V); minimum 100 MHz
RAM (GB)1
GPUNot required
Disk (GB)1
libddsc.so library ~2 MB. Embedded build (rdpc.so) requires ~256 KB RAM.
Packaging & distribution
Package managers
apt / debSource – CMake / ament_cmakeGitHub Releases / GitHub Actions ArtifactsROS 2 Binary Release (packages.ros.org)conda / mambaDocker / Docker Hub
CPU architectures
x86_64 (AMD64)ARM64 / AArch64aarch64 / ARM64ARMv7 / ARM32 (armhf)Apple Silicon – AArch64 (macOS)NVIDIA Jetson – AArch64 (JetPack)
Installation difficulty
LevelModerate
Protocols and interfaces
Communication protocols
DDS (Data Distribution Service)CycloneDDSRTPS (Real-Time Publish-Subscribe)ROS 2 TopicsROS 2 ServicesROS 2 ActionsEthernet / TCP-IPShared Memory (POSIX / mmap)
Hardware interfaces
Ethernet 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet)Ethernet 2.5GBASE-TEthernet 10GBASE-T (10 Gigabit Ethernet)
Latency classes
Hard Real-Time (< 1 ms)Hard Real-Time (1–5 ms)Deterministic (protocol-dependent)
Deployment types
On RobotEdgeLocal WorkstationContainerized
Supported simulators
Gazebo Harmonic
Gazebo Fortress
NVIDIA Isaac Sim
Official Docker images
ros:humble-ros-baseros:jazzy-ros-baseosrf/ros2
Licenses
EPL-2.0Eclipse Public License 2.0v2.0
License family: Weak Copyleft
ModificationDistributionCommercial usePrivate useROS-compatibleOSI approvedFSF Free/LibreRequires attributionShare-alikeSource disclosurePatent grant
BSD-3-ClauseEclipse Distribution License 1.0v1.0
License family: Permissive
ModificationDistributionCommercial useSublicensingPrivate useROS-compatibleFSF Free/LibreRequires attribution
Version history
0.11.0Sept 2024
XCDR2 support, discovery optimization for large networks.
0.10.4Nov 2023
DDS Security, shared memory transport improvements.
0.10.0Apr 2022
Default RMW in ROS 2 Galactic.
0.8.0Sept 2020
Full RMW support for ROS 2 Foxy.
0.7.0Dec 2019
First Eclipse release under new EPL license.