Reducing the cost of robotics software : SAMGAR, a generic modular robotic software communication architecture

Abstract

Code reuse in advanced robotics can be problematic due to the wide spectrum of robotic projects and little standardization. Although, in some cases, there are standardisations and tools that can be used, such as YARP, there are still many niches in the field unable to use these. This paper addresses some of the issues preventing these tools from being used. It concentrates on some widely used concepts such as genericity and modularity; and in particular it discusses encapsulation, generic templates, and work in progress towards software self-regulation and self-alteration. The paper also studies the grouping of modules into items which can recursively reside within larger items, leading to a platform designed to take these concepts into consideration. This allows such modules to be employed in an easy and efficient manner, allowing not only code re-use but also enabling concepts of self-repairing and self-maintenance robots. With this level of extendibility, SAMGAR aims to facilitate the implementation for intelligent agents and the migration of their ldquopersonalitiesrdquo (behaviour tendencies) from one physical embodiment to another. A proof of concept implementation using a robotics simulation environment is presented.