In this work we present the initial implementation of a middleware software tool called the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HABLA). This tool isolates the control architecture of an autonomous computational system, like a...
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ISBN:
(纸本)9789728865832
In this work we present the initial implementation of a middleware software tool called the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HABLA). This tool isolates the control architecture of an autonomous computational system, like a robot, from its particular hardware implementation. It is provided with a set of general sensors and typical sensorial processing mechanisms of this kind of autonomous systems allowing for its application to different commercial platforms. This way, the HABLA permits the control designer to focus its work on higher-level tasks minimizing the time spent on the adaptation of the control architecture to different hardware configurations. Another important feature of the HABLA is that both hardware-HABLA and HABLA-control communications take place through standard TCP sockets, permitting the distribution of the computational cost over different computers. In addition, it has been developed in JAVA, so it is platform independent. After presenting the general HABLA diagram and operation structure, we consider a real application using the same deliberative control architecture on two different autonomous robots: an Aibo legged robot and a Pioneer 2Dx wheeled robot.
Mobile robots are extensively used in flexible manufacturing systems and intra-logistics on a 24/7 basis to address demand fluctuations, increase productivity and promote environmental, economic and social sustainabil...
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Mobile robots are extensively used in flexible manufacturing systems and intra-logistics on a 24/7 basis to address demand fluctuations, increase productivity and promote environmental, economic and social sustainability. In this regard, routing algorithms are used to navigate mobile industrial robots for optimizing shop-floor logistics operations. However, open-source tools and software libraries implementing routing algorithms provide limited real-world relevance via indicatively neglecting the physical operating environment's characteristics and the kinematics of mobile robots. To this effect, this research designs, analyzes and develops MIROR, a middleware software tool that interfaces mobile industrial robots with route optimization algorithms to deliver a sophisticated testing environment that: (i) applies routing algorithms for the optimal logistics of mobile robots in customized industrial facility layouts;(ii) allows the comparison of the resulting algorithmic outcomes to inform about effective and efficient routing options;and (iii) creates optimal routing plans for informing the logistics operations of equivalent real-world mobile robots in industrial manufacturing settings. Specifically, MIROR integrates open-source Operations Research tools and the Robot Operating System to simulate and explore alternative logistics scenarios for mobile robots in 3D recreated industrial manufacturing facilities. To a greater extent, MIROR allows the transfer of the optimal routing code to equivalent real-world vehicles. Specifically, the implemented middlewaretool handles variations of the Traveling Salesman Problem and generates feasible routes in complex facility layouts considering a variety of mobile robots. Academics and practitioners could benefit from the user-friendly interface of MIROR to generate realistic scheduling and routing options for the optimal planning of the logistics operations of mobile industrial robots in manufacturing environments. (C) 2021 The
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