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ROS 2 migration: powering autonomous tractors

One of our customers faced a significant technical challenge: migrating an operational ROS 1-based system to ROS 2. The system consisted of 113 nodes, 346 topics, 75 services and 27 actions. Although the migration had been postponed several times, it became unavoidable — all while the autonomous tractors needed to remain operational in the field.

The limitations of ROS 1 for autonomous vehicles

While the ROS 1 system was functional, it had reached its limits. The ROS master was already operating in a multithreaded configuration. New features and bug fixes became increasingly difficult to merge upstream, as many development efforts had shifted towards ROS 2. Integration of new sensors and advanced features also became challenging, with most innovation happening in the ROS 2 environment.

Our migration expertise

With more than six years of ROS 2 experience, including autonomous pallet trucks, various smaller robots and performance investigations, we were well positioned to support the migration.
Despite this expertise, migrating a large and complex ROS 1 stack to ROS 2 remains a major undertaking. The team balanced maintaining system uptime while adapting to ROS 2 requirements such as:

• new ROS 2 syntax
• Nav2 navigation stack
• parameters defined per node
• publishing /robot_description as a topic

A structured approach

A structured and phased approach made the migration manageable. We broke the process into clear steps, from updating the codebase to setting up customised CI/CD workflows.
This allowed the engineering team to return their focus to innovation, rather than spending time untangling migration challenges.

Why timely migration matters

Delaying a migration means missing opportunities for better performance, improved scalability and easier integration of new technologies. Based on our experience, we developed a practical and transparent migration service, priced per line of code. We ensure not only a smooth migration but also provide the tools and support needed to maintain system reliability.

Ready to take the leap?

The autonomous tractors are now operating successfully on ROS 2, future-proofed for further innovation. Preparing for a migration? Visit our webpage  here to learn how we can support your transition or fill out the contact form below to recieve more information.