RTI Blog

Beyond gRPC: The Data Distribution Challenge in Physical AI Systems

bob.leigh@rti.com (Bob Leigh) — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:00:03 GMT

In the course of supporting modern autonomous vehicles, robotic fleets, and mission-critical defense platforms, today’s Physical AI systems generate massive volumes of sensor data that must be processed, analyzed, and acted upon in real time. But that’s only the beginning. Across industries, efficient real-time data streaming is now the key competitive differentiator – and getting it right can unlock new insights and system-wide capabilities. For example, if your development team is tasked with building the infrastructure to support Physical AI, just how critical is low latency?

Connext 7.7 for ROS 2 Lyrical: Easing Prototype-to-Production Migration

Juan Carlos Chaves — Tue, 26 May 2026 16:00:02 GMT

After more than two years of development, ROS 2 Lyrical Luth is now generally available. Here at RTI, we’re pleased to announce some significant RTI Connext enhancements to go with this latest ROS 2 LTS.

The Physical AI Data Flywheel: Why Data Architecture Is the New Differentiator

bob.leigh@rti.com (Bob Leigh) — Tue, 12 May 2026 15:58:29 GMT

Most companies today have an AI strategy built on strong ambition, but a data strategy built on wishful thinking.

Western OEMs and Tier-1s are Failing the SDV Test

stan@rti.com (Stan Schneider) — Tue, 05 May 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Why does that matter?
What can we do about it?

The Future is Software Defined

The Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) is not an optional future; it is a clear, present, and superior reality. Compared to the antiquated specialized Electronic Control Unit (ECU) architecture, SDVs offer dramatically more flexible designs. They can morph across multiple models, use simpler hardware, and leverage a much more capable central HPC (High Performance Compute). They allow vastly faster design cycles, with some Chinese SDVs approaching single-year cycles. They use Over-The-Air (OTA) software updates to deliver better experiences to customers and lower liability to OEMs. The business drivers are incredibly compelling.

The Dawn of Physical Data Streaming

stan@rti.com (Stan Schneider) — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 13:30:00 GMT

The smart-planet promise is everywhere these days: Robotaxi fleets. Digital ORs. Golden Dome. Smart farms. Dark factories. These integrated systems would connect dozens or thousands of smart components together into a working whole.

From Requirements to Relevance: Why Defense Acquisition Is Shifting Toward Field-Ready Solutions

johnb@rti.com (John Breitenbach) — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:17:48 GMT

For decades, defense acquisition followed a long, structured pattern. Requirements were gathered across stakeholders, programs expanded as more priorities were added, and industry responded to detailed specifications before a prototype ever reached the field. That approach was built for a different era of longer platform cycles and more stable requirements. It often produced sophisticated systems, but it also created a process that was too slow and too fragmented for the pace of operational change.

Introducing Connext MCP: Give Your AI Agent Connext Expertise

Grayson Honan — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 16:05:10 GMT

The way developers write software is changing fast. AI coding agents – tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot – are becoming a core part of the development workflow, generating code, debugging issues, and scaffolding entire projects from natural-language descriptions. But there's a catch: these agents are only as good as the knowledge they have access to. When it comes to specialized middleware such as RTI Connext, even the most capable AI model can stumble, burning time and tokens guessing at APIs it wasn't specifically trained on.

What Ukraine’s Ground Robots Teach Us About the Real Challenge of Autonomy

rob@rti.com (Rob Proctor) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:14:59 GMT

Robotic systems in Ukraine are exposing a coordination problem. Individual platforms can operate effectively in narrow roles, but coordinating large numbers of autonomous systems remains difficult. The challenge grows quickly as teams expand beyond a few platforms.

Developing Mixed-Criticality ADAS Systems with Connext Drive

Jose Lopez-Vega and Mihai Potoceanu — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:00:01 GMT

As the automotive industry shifts toward zonal architectures, architects have moved from managing ECUs to orchestrating environments where fail-operational ADAS and high-bandwidth infotainment must coexist. But combining critical, safety-certified functions with non-critical applications on a single, integrated cockpit controller presents design challenges. Developers must balance the need for high reliability in critical functions with the importance of maintaining cost-effectiveness, reduced weight, and lower power consumption.

Introducing the Connext Robotics Toolkit for ROS 2

david@rti.com (David Barnett) — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 15:30:00 GMT

Rev up your ROS development with RTI