Unitree G1
Bipedal humanoid robot by Unitree Robotics, designed as a compact research, development, and developer platform.
Applications
- Research
- Home Assistance
Fast DDS (formerly known as Fast RTPS) is the flagship open-source implementation of the OMG Data Distribution Service (DDS) v1.4 and Real-Time Publish-Subscribe (RTPS) v2.5 standards, developed by Spanish company eProsima. It is written in C++17 and provides a full API in both C++ and Python (Fast DDS Python bindings).
Fast DDS is the default middleware of ROS 2 since the Foxy Fitzroy distribution (2020) and remains the recommended RMW for most scenarios. It provides a wide QoS set (Reliability, Durability, History, Deadline, Liveliness, Lifespan), automatic peer discovery via UDP multicast, SHM (Shared Memory) transport for intra-host communication, and TCP transport for wide-area scenarios. In ROS 2 benchmarks it achieves lower latencies and higher throughput than the competing Cyclone DDS in many typical configurations.
eProsima also develops an ecosystem of tools around Fast DDS: Fast DDS Monitor (GUI to inspect the DDS graph), Fast DDS Discovery Server (centralized discovery for large networks), Fast DDS Statistics (telemetry), Integration Service (bridges to MQTT, WebSocket, ROS 1, FIWARE), and Micro XRCE-DDS — the foundation of the micro-ROS project. License: Apache 2.0.
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.
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.
An API Library is a software package that exposes programmatic interfaces for communicating with a device, service, or system. In robotics it typically forms a lightweight integration layer built on top of the manufacturer's official API or an open-source project, abstracting low-level protocol details and providing language-native bindings (Python, C++, Java, etc.).
A Runtime is the environment or execution layer used to run code, load libraries, manage dependencies, and operate applications or services — either in real time or during normal system operation. In robotics this includes real-time operating system (RTOS) runtimes, ROS 2 executor runtimes, containerised execution environments (Docker, podman), and embedded C++ runtimes on microcontrollers.
Default RMW in all official ROS 2 binaries (Foxy → Kilted). Used by thousands of production robots (TurtleBot 4, Clearpath, Unitree G1/H1 community, PX4 uXRCE-DDS bridge), in Airbus aircraft, rail, and autonomous vehicles.
2.4k★ github.com/eProsima/Fast-DDS, active issue trackers and an eProsima Discord, regular ROSCon talks, sponsored educational workshops. Commercial support via eProsima Premium.
Bipedal humanoid robot by Unitree Robotics, designed as a compact research, development, and developer platform.
Unitree H1 is a full-size general-purpose humanoid robot (~180 cm, ~47 kg). Bipedal, 5 DOF per leg + 4 DOF per arm, 3.3 m/s walking speed, 360° perception via 3D LiDAR + depth camera, Unitree M107 PMSM joint motors with ~360 N·m peak knee torque. Standard compute: Intel Core i5/i7; optional NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX.
Figure 03 is the third-generation humanoid robot from Figure AI, designed for Helix, home environments, and scalable mass production.
General-purpose humanoid robot developed by Tesla since 2021 (Tesla Bot). About 173 cm tall, 57 kg, 20 kg payload. Generation 3 hands have 22 degrees of freedom. Controlled by an AI system derived from Tesla FSD.
The full library occupies ~50 MB. For deterministic critical paths, a PREEMPT_RT kernel is recommended.
License family: Permissive
Major rewrite (C++17 baseline), default for ROS 2 Kilted.
ROS 2 Jazzy, Statistics module GA, SHM improvements.
ROS 2 Iron support, Discovery Server v2.
ROS 2 Humble support, long-term LTS.
Rebrand to Fast DDS, default RMW for ROS 2 Foxy.
First public Fast RTPS release.
