taktora

Description

taktora is an executor and connector framework for real-time systems in Rust. The executor schedules tasks; the connector framework wires those tasks to the outside world — fieldbuses, network protocols, other processes. Both halves share one property: payloads move through shared memory without serialization or allocation on the hot path.

The problem it addresses is the middleware tax. Most real-time stacks pay for every message: a copy into a serializer, a heap allocation for a buffer, a syscall to a broker, another copy on the other side. By the time the data lands, the deadline is gone. taktora removes those steps. iceoryx2 carries the bytes through shared memory; the executor schedules work deterministically around them.

What it does:

• Zero-copy IPC: Payloads traverse process boundaries through shared memory. No serialization, no heap allocations on the hot path. A 10-byte sample and a 10-megabyte sample take the same time to deliver.
• Deterministic execution: Sequential chains, parallel DAGs, and signal/slot patterns. Tasks can be pinned to cores; timing is observable, not guessed at.
• Unified connector interface: One protocol-agnostic channel shape. EtherCAT and Zenoh ship as reference connectors; CAN follows the same pattern. Swap the transport without rewriting the application.
• Real-time first: No GC, no hidden allocations, no broker process between you and the data. The design assumes you have a deadline and care about jitter.
• Multi-host coordination: Local IPC via iceoryx2, remote distribution via Zenoh. The application code does not need to know which it is using.

It targets robotics control loops, industrial automation gateways, and any distributed real-time system where the middleware itself has become the bottleneck.

Website: https://taktora.eu

Used Tools and Technologies

• Rust
• iceoryx2
• EtherCAT
• Zenoh
• CAN / SocketCAN
• Shared Memory
• Linux