ZettaScale's Hiroz delivers Rust-based robotics stack with full ROS 2 compatibility

ZettaScale Technology has unveiled Hiroz (formerly ROS-Z), a high-performance robotics stack built entirely on the Eclipse Zenoh protocol and implemented in pure Rust. The platform is designed to provide full ROS 2 compatibility while freeing roboticists from the limitations of the standard ROS architecture. Unlike the existing rmw_zenoh middleware (a Tier-1 ROS 2 RMW implementation), Hiroz is a Zenoh-native layer that sits directly on top of the protocol, not bound to the RMW interface. This allows Hiroz nodes to communicate with regular ROS 2 nodes over the same Zenoh infrastructure, enabling hybrid systems that mix standard and enhanced components. Key technical differentiators include support for multiple serialization formats (CDR for ROS compatibility and Protobuf), zero-copy pub/sub with CPU and CUDA memory backends (coming soon), and native language bindings for Rust, Python, and Go (Go bindings sponsored by Dexory). The full-Rust stack ensures memory safety and predictable performance, which aligns well with AI-assisted development workflows.

Hiroz supports ROS 2 distributions Humble, Jazzy, and Kilted, with Lyrical support arriving very soon. ZettaScale remains committed to evolving both rmw_zenoh and Hiroz, and the company invites partners and customers with specific needs—such as custom transports, new language bindings, or extreme performance requirements—to engage directly. For the robotics community, Hiroz represents a significant step toward more flexible, performant, and interoperable systems, allowing developers to break free from tight ROS 2 coupling without sacrificing ecosystem compatibility. The project is open-source, with repository and documentation available on GitHub under the ZettaScale Labs organization.