ROS2 Connect: A new ROS2 over WAN Solution

arXiv:2608.25102v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The Robot Operating System 2 (ROS2) has become a widely adopted framework for the development of distributed robotic systems. However, its communication architecture, based on DDS and RTPS, relies on multicast discovery mechanisms that are typically unavailable in wide-area network (WAN) environments, making remote operation challenging. This work presents ROS2 Connect, a WebSocket-based communication framework that enables transparent and secure ROS2 interaction across routed networks without requiring modifications to network infrastructure or DDS configurations. The proposed client-server architecture supports bidirectional exchange of topics, services, actions, and system data while integrating authentication and access control mechanisms. Experimental evaluation over a real WAN connection demonstrates significantly lower latency, higher stability, and improved scalability compared to existing solutions, including DDS Router, rosbridge and Zenoh. Initial results show that ROS2 Connect provides a reliable foundation for teleoperation and distributed robotics applications over wide-area networks.

Related

• ros2probe: Non-intrusive, Kernel-selective Observability for Robot Operating System 2 Middleware
• The Three Dimensions of ROS 2 Middleware
• Technical Report: Asynchronous Distributed Trajectory Estimation of Multi-Robot Systems

Source: arXiv cs.RO | 2026-08-27