Documentation
VPN for robotics and ROS 2
ROS 2 and its DDS middleware assume a local network: multicast discovery, low latency, direct exchanges between nodes. Remotely, that is hard. A mesh VPN that replicates IP multicast and carries end-to-end datagrams brings remote robotics close to a true LAN.
The challenge of remote ROS 2
DDS (the middleware under ROS 2) discovers its participants over UDP multicast and favors direct, low-latency exchanges. A classic star-shaped VPN breaks this model: no multicast, a detour through a concentrator, added latency. For teleoperation, every millisecond and every datagram counts.
How VIGIL connects robots
- IP multicast replicated across the mesh: DDS discovery traverses as if on a LAN (see /en/docs/l2-multicast).
- End-to-end unreliable datagrams for real-time control: no TCP head-of-line blocking on the command path.
- Immediate connection via a blind relay, then switchover to the direct path: direct latency is essentially that of your network.
- A MAVLink connector for drones and a browser node (WASM) to control from a no-code application.
Latency and real time
On a validated direct path, VIGIL adds only a single encryption layer to the network journey: end-to-end latency is essentially that of your network. The design objectives (for example keeping the elected path close to the best validated path) are targets, not measurements — see /en/docs/performances.