ros2/ros2

ROS2 is the de facto standard middleware for robotics. It has institutional backing (Open Robotics), massive ecosystem adoption (5300+ stars underrepresents its true reach—thousands of industrial/academic robots run ROS2), and generates irreplaceable network effects through the library ecosystem, hardware integration layers, and community domain expertise. The 879 forks and 4060-day history reflect mature infrastructure with evolutionary improvement rather than revolutionary innovation. Frontier labs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) are not in the business of building robotics middlewares—they consume it or partner with it. Even companies like Boston Dynamics and Tesla integrate with ROS ecosystems rather than replace it wholesale. The real moat is not code novelty but 15+ years of accumulated hardware drivers, simulation integration (Gazebo), visualization tools (RViz), and developer muscle memory. Incremental because ROS2 is an evolution of ROS1 using DDS (standard middleware), but defensible because the switching cost to alternatives (YARP, Orocos) is astronomical for existing deployments. Zero velocity signals dormancy in core—which is appropriate for mature infrastructure that doesn't churn. This is category-defining: you don't compete with ROS2, you integrate with it.