Meta-ROS: A Next-Generation Middleware Architecture for Adaptive and Scalable Robotic Systems

TL;DR

Meta-ROS addresses interoperability and real-time constraints in robotics middleware by extending ROS-2-inspired ideas with Zenoh and ZeroMQ for low-latency, cross-platform data distribution. It introduces a publisher-subscriber, service, and action-driven communication model backed by Zenoh, a CFS-based scheduling approach, AES security, and robust fault-tolerance, packaged as a Python library on PyPI. Empirical results show Meta-ROS delivering up to $30\%$ higher throughput and lower latency than ROS2, with efficient handling of multimedia data and improved cross-platform deployment, including cloud-edge integration. Collectively, this work advances scalable, developer-friendly robotics middleware and enables broader adoption for real-time AI robotics applications.

Abstract

The field of robotics faces significant challenges related to the complexity and interoperability of existing middleware frameworks, like ROS2, which can be difficult for new developers to adopt. To address these issues, we propose Meta-ROS, a novel middleware solution designed to streamline robotics development by simplifying integration, enhancing performance, and ensuring cross-platform compatibility. Meta-ROS leverages modern communication protocols, such as Zenoh and ZeroMQ, to enable efficient and low-latency communication across diverse hardware platforms, while also supporting various data types like audio, images, and video. We evaluated Meta-ROS's performance through comprehensive testing, comparing it with existing middleware frameworks like ROS1 and ROS2. The results demonstrated that Meta-ROS outperforms ROS2, achieving up to 30% higher throughput, significantly reducing message latency, and optimizing resource usage. Additionally, its robust hardware support and developer-centric design facilitate seamless integration and ease of use, positioning Meta-ROS as an ideal solution for modern, real-time robotics AI applications.

Figures (9)

• Figure 1: Meta-ROS interfaces and their interactions, encompassing topics, services, and actions.
• Figure 2: Performance of Meta-ROS with Zenoh.
• Figure 3: High-level system architecture overview.
• Figure 4: Performance comparison on multiple metrics.
• Figure 5: Throughput (msg/s) for the single-machine scenario.