ROS 1 End-of-Life: Transition Services to ROS 2 and Apex.OS

As of May 31, 2025, ROS 1 has officially reached end-of-life, closing a chapter that has shaped the robotics and autonomous systems landscape for over a decade. For teams still relying on ROS 1, the shift to ROS 2 is no longer just a recommendation—it’s a necessity. 

ROS 2 introduces key improvements that make it the clear successor to ROS 1. These include middleware abstraction, communication, deterministic execution, and modular system design—essential capabilities for building modern, scalable, and secure robotic systems. 

But what if your system needs more than what ROS 2 alone can offer? 

Apex.Grace: Beyond ROS 2 for Real-Time and Safety-Critical Systems 

If you’re building systems that require real-time performance, functional safety, or certifiability—such as L2–L4 ADAS, defense autonomy, marine systems, or industrial automation—ROS 2 alone may not be sufficient. 

This is where Apex.Grace comes in. Built on top of ROS 2 and designed for deterministic, production-ready deployment, Apex.Grace provides a hardened, reliable foundation for safety-critical applications. 

Key features include: 

• Zero-copy communication for high-throughput, deterministic data handling 

• Flexible execution models supporting chains, graphs, and custom triggers 

• Integrated process and lifecycle management with health monitoring and diagnostics 

• Real-time capable logging and tracing under system load 

• ISO 26262 ASIL-D certification as a Safety Element out of Context (SEooC) 

• Near API-compatibility with ROS 2 to support straightforward migration from prototypes to production 

If you've already started building in ROS 2, Apex.Grace allows you to preserve your application logic while upgrading the runtime environment for production. 

Apex.Ida: A Safer, Faster Middleware Core 

For teams demanding more control and performance from their middleware, Apex.Ida offers a next-generation alternative to the default ROS 2 RMW and DDS layers. 

Apex.Ida delivers: 

• Shared-memory zero-copy IPC for ultra-low latency and high throughput 

• QoS-aware messaging with deterministic delivery and end-to-end protection 

• Support for key communication protocols including DDS, RTPS, CAN, SOME/IP, and MQTT 

• A unified connector architecture that bridges legacy systems and cloud infrastructure 

Apex.Ida is purpose-built for safety, scale, and system-level efficiency, giving your ROS-based application a middleware upgrade that’s designed for deployment. 

Interested in learning more about products: 

Contact us at products@apex.ai

From Prototyping to Production 

Apex.OS, which includes Apex.Grace and Apex.Ida—provides the full migration path from ROS 1/2 to a certifiable, real-time capable runtime. Whether you’re working on autonomous vehicles, robotics platforms, defense technologies, or industrial systems, Apex.OS enables you to move from proof-of-concept to product with confidence. 

Now that ROS 1 is sunsetted, it’s time to shift your software architecture to a platform designed for deployment, not just experimentation. 

In addition to offering full migrations to Apex.OS, Apex.AI also provides engineering services for teams facing challenges with their existing ROS 2 applications. If a full transition isn’t feasible, we can help stabilize your current system—tackling issues like message latency, middleware misconfiguration, inconsistent QoS settings, high CPU usage, and lack of observability into DDS behavior. From latency tuning to middleware optimization, our experts work directly with your architecture to ensure ROS 2 operates reliably in production environments.

Interested in learning more about transition services?  Contact us at services@apex.ai