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Zenoh settings for ROS 2 and Autoware#

Autoware uses CycloneDDS as its default communication middleware, but it's also compatible with other protocols like Zenoh. The ROS community has selected Zenoh as a promising new middleware alternative due to its key advantages:

  • Internet Communication: Unlike DDS, which is limited to a local area network (LAN), Zenoh can seamlessly communicate with the cloud, eliminating the need for a separate bridge.
  • Namespace Support: Zenoh allows for the use of namespaces for each vehicle. This feature simplifies managing multiple vehicles and isolating network traffic.
  • Non-Multicast Support: Zenoh functions in non-multicast environments like 5G, a key limitation for DDS.
  • Reduced Discovery Overhead: Zenoh significantly reduces discovery packet overhead, a known issue with DDS in wireless environments.
  • Superior Performance: A study has shown that Zenoh generally outperforms other protocols such as DDS, MQTT, and Kafka.

The following sections provide a step-by-step tutorial for running Autoware with Zenoh. We recommend using ROS 2 Jazzy, supported since Autoware 1.7.1, as it includes a fix for the GuardCondition use-after-free issue and eliminates the need for any workaround patches.

Install rmw_zenoh#

  1. Install rmw_zenoh

    sudo apt update && sudo apt install ros-jazzy-rmw-zenoh-cpp

  2. Set rmw_zenoh as the default RMW implementation

    Add the following line to your ~/.bashrc file:

    export RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_zenoh_cpp

  3. Reload your shell configuration (or open a new terminal):

    source ~/.bashrc

For more details, see the rmw_zenoh repository.

Launch Autoware with Zenoh#

  1. Start the Zenoh router:

    # terminal 1
ros2 run rmw_zenoh_cpp rmw_zenohd

  2. Launch Autoware:

    # terminal 2
source <YOUR-AUTOWARE-DIR>/install/setup.bash
ros2 launch autoware_launch autoware.launch.xml ...

Logging#

Zenoh is implemented in Rust and uses a logging library configurable via the RUST_LOG environment variable. You can specify different levels (such as info, debug, or trace) for more or less verbosity.

Example#

Start the Zenoh router with debug logs enabled:

export RUST_LOG=zenoh=debug
ros2 run rmw_zenoh_cpp rmw_zenohd

Or launch autoware with info log in a single command:

RUST_LOG=zenoh=info ros2 launch autoware_launch autoware.launch.xml ...

For more information, see the rmw_zenoh logging section.