Looking for 3–5 ROS 2 teams with painful remote debugging workflows (private beta)
A new tool aims to replace SSH, VPNs, and fragile tunnels for debugging robots in the field.
RoboTunnel is launching a high-touch private beta to tackle a persistent pain point in robotics: remote debugging for ROS 2 systems deployed outside the lab. The company, founded by Russell_She, has identified a common pattern where teams waste significant time rebuilding transport plumbing—SSH, VPNs, port forwarding, and fragile tunnels—every time a field robot needs debugging. Their new tool, RoboTunnel, aims to validate a narrower, more efficient workflow that lets engineers bring a robot online and start a managed debug session directly, bypassing complex network hurdles.
The beta is specifically targeting 3-5 design partner teams that deploy ROS 2 robots in the field, deal with challenging network conditions like NAT or weak links, and currently rely on ad-hoc remote access setups. The initial focus is CLI-first, with the goal of getting one real robot connected and one real debugging session working. RoboTunnel is not yet a full fleet management platform but is starting with this core debugging use case. The founder promises personal onboarding assistance for beta participants to validate real-world diagnostics workflows.
- Targets ROS 2 teams struggling with SSH, VPNs, and port forwarding for remote robot debugging.
- Seeks 3-5 design partners for a high-touch private beta with personal onboarding from the founder.
- Initial CLI workflow focuses on bringing a single robot online for a managed debug session, not full fleet management.
Why It Matters
It could drastically reduce downtime and engineering overhead for robotics teams maintaining field deployments.