Open Architecture Robot Controller and Software Library

In its continuing efforts to automate complex ordnance resupply operations using robotic systems, the U.S. Army faces a number of demanding technical problems that represent the leading edge of robot control theory, including the development of flexible task-level programming environments, issues of robot mobility and base motion effects, multi-sensor integration, multi-arm coordination, compliance control, and robot calibration. Many of these specific problems have already been addressed by researchers working independently over the last six years at NASA laboratories, at NIST, and at academic institutions across the U.S. By far the majority of this new control technology has been accomplished using seven degree-of=freedom, force/position-controlled manipulators supplied by Robotics REsearch Corporation. This proposal outlines a project by which the Army can leverage this prior work by capturing the key elements of existing government-funded control software in a new open architecture, high-level robot control system. We will formalize new architecture interfaces, assemble a library of existing robot control software, and modify that software to conform to the new open architecure --allowing it to be mixed and matched, dynamically, to meet the specific needs of particular applications. By establishing appropriate software module interface standards, this software library will not be limited to use with RRC robots, but will operate any conforming robot system.