Concurrent and Real-Time Task Management for Self-Reconfigurable Robots

Harris Chiu and Wei-Min Shen. Concurrent and Real-Time Task Management for Self-Reconfigurable Robots. In Proc. Third Intl. Conf. on Autonomous Robots and Agents, 2006.

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Abstract

We present a concurrent and real-time task management method for distributed control of modules in a self-reconfigurable robot. This method is essential for modules to simultaneously control multiple behaviours in real-time and supporting a concurrent programming style that will greatly ease the development of control software for large-scale reconfigurable robots. Although real-time operating systems and concurrent programming have been around for many years, it is only recently that the technology is miniaturized enough for embedded systems and self-reconfigurable robots. We have successfully implemented the method on our new SuperBot modules and have demonstrated its utility through the programming of locomotion gaits with the real modules.

BibTeX Entry

@InProceedings{	  chiu2006concurrent-and-real-time-task-management,
  abstract	= {We present a concurrent and real-time task management
		  method for distributed control of modules in a
		  self-reconfigurable robot. This method is essential for
		  modules to simultaneously control multiple behaviours in
		  real-time and supporting a concurrent programming style
		  that will greatly ease the development of control software
		  for large-scale reconfigurable robots. Although real-time
		  operating systems and concurrent programming have been
		  around for many years, it is only recently that the
		  technology is miniaturized enough for embedded systems and
		  self-reconfigurable robots. We have successfully
		  implemented the method on our new SuperBot modules and have
		  demonstrated its utility through the programming of
		  locomotion gaits with the real modules.},
  author	= {Harris Chiu and Wei-Min Shen},
  booktitle	= {Proc.\ Third Intl.\ Conf.\ on Autonomous Robots and Agents},
  title		= {Concurrent and Real-Time Task Management for
		  Self-Reconfigurable Robots},
  year		= {2006}
}