Development of personal area network (PAN) for mobile robot using bluetooth transceiver

The work presents the concept of providing a Personal Area Network (PAN) for microcontroller based mobile robots using Bluetooth transceiver. With the concept of replacing cable, low cost, low power consumption and communication range between 10m to 100m, Bluetooth is suitable for communication between mobile robots since most mobile robots are powered by batteries and have high mobility. The network aimed to support real-time control of up to two mobile robots from a master mobile robot through communication using Bluetooth transceiver. If a fast network radio link is implemented, a whole new world of possibilities is opened in the research of robotics control and Artificial Intelligence (AI) research works, sending real time image and information. Robots could communicate through obstacles or even through walls. Bluetooth Ad Hoc topology provides a simple communication between devices in close by forming PAN. A system contained of both hardware and software is designed to enable the robots to form a PAN and communicating, sharing information. Three microcontroller based mobile robots are built for this research work. Bluetooth Protocol Stack and mobile robot control architecture is implemented on a single microcontroller chip. The PAN enabled a few mobile robots to communicate with each other to complete a given task. The wireless communication between mobile robots is reliable based from the result of experiments carried out. Thus this is a platform for multi mobile robots system and Ad Hoc networking system. Results from experiments show that microcontroller based mobile robots can easily form a Bluetooth PAN and communicate with each other

Reducing Communication Delay Variability for a Group of Robots

A novel architecture is presented for reducing communication delay variability for a group of robots. This architecture relies on using three components: a microprocessor architecture that allows deterministic real-time tasks; an event-based communication protocol in which nodes transmit in a TDMA fashion, without the need of global clock synchronization techniques; and a novel communication scheme that enables deterministic communications by allowing senders to transmit without regard for the state of the medium or coordination with other senders, and receivers can tease apart messages sent simultaneously with a high probability of success. This approach compared to others, allows simultaneous communications without regard for the state of the transmission medium, it allows deterministic communications, and it enables ordered communications that can be a applied in a team of robots. Simulations and experimental results are also included

Modular development of mobile robots with open source hardware and software components

Prototyping and engineering robot hardware and low-level control often require time and efforts thus subtracted to core research activities, such as SLAM or planning algorithms development, which need a working, reliable, platform to be evaluated in a real world scenario. In this paper, we present Rapid Robot Prototyping (R2P), an open source, hardware and software architecture for the rapid prototyping of robotic applications, where off-the-shelf embedded modules (e.g., sensors, actuators, and controllers) are combined together in a plug-and-play fashion, enabling the implementation of a complex system in a simple and modular way. R2P makes people involved in robotics, from researchers and designers to students and hobbyists, dramatically reduce the time and efforts required to build a robot prototype

Modèles algorithmes et méthodologie pour la conception de systèmes de sécurité physique basés sur des microcontrôleurs protégés des attaques cyber-physiques

Un moyen d'assurer la sécurité de systèmes basés sur des micro-contrôleurs (mCS) est de considérer une approche de génération à partir de spécifications. Malheureusement, les approches existantes souffrent d'inconvénients, et le but de la méthodologie présentée dans cette thèse est de les éviter dans le cas particulier des mCS pour la sécurité physique (mCS-Sec). Les principaux résultats de ce travail sont le développement de modèles, d'algorithmes, et d'une méthodologie originale de création de mCS-Sec, et leur implémentation. L'applicabilité de la méthode a été évaluée sur un système de robot de surveillance d'une zone. Dans ce cas, notre évaluation a montré que l'approche développée satisfaisait toutes les contraintes imposées, tout en offrant certains avantages par rapport aux solutions existantes. Nous pensons que cette approche permettra de réduire le nombre de faiblesses et les problèmes d'architecture dans les mCS, ce qui en réduira la surface d'attaque.One of the possible ways to ensure the security of microcontroller-based systems is the implementation of security by design approach. Unfortunately, existing approaches are not without drawbacks, that is why this thesis is aimed at developing the new one. Moreover, among all possible systems, in this work, only physical security systems were chosen as an area of the application. The main findings of the work are containing original models, algorithms, methodology and software implementation. Their correctness was checked on a system of mobile robots for perimeter monitoring. The evaluation of the developed solution showed that it satisfies all requirements while having advantages over commercial and scientific analogues, which means that the goal of this work was reached. It is assumed that the use of the developed solution will help to reduce the number of weak places and architectural defects in microcontroller-based systems, thereby significantly reducing their attack surface

Distributed Control Architecture

This document describes the development and testing of a novel Distributed Control Architecture (DCA). The DCA developed during the study is an attempt to turn the components used to construct unmanned vehicles into a network of intelligent devices, connected using standard networking protocols. The architecture exists at both a hardware and software level and provides a communication channel between control modules, actuators and sensors. A single unified mechanism for connecting sensors and actuators to the control software will reduce the technical knowledge required by platform integrators and allow control systems to be rapidly constructed in a Plug and Play manner. DCA uses standard networking hardware to connect components, removing the need for custom communication channels between individual sensors and actuators. The use of a common architecture for the communication between components should make it easier for software to dynamically determine the vehicle s current capabilities and increase the range of processing platforms that can be utilised. Implementations of the architecture currently exist for Microsoft Windows, Windows Mobile 5, Linux and Microchip dsPIC30 microcontrollers. Conceptually, DCA exposes the functionality of each networked device as objects with interfaces and associated methods. Allowing each object to expose multiple interfaces allows for future upgrades without breaking existing code. In addition, the use of common interfaces should help facilitate component reuse, unit testing and make it easier to write generic reusable software

A Robot Operating System (ROS) based humanoid robot control

This thesis presents adapting techniques required to enhance the capability of a commercially available robot, namely, Robotis Bioloid Premium Humanoid Robot (BPHR). BeagleBone Black (BBB), the decision-making and implementing (intelligence providing) component, with multifunctional capabilities is used in this research. Robot operating System (ROS) and its libraries, as well as Python Script and its libraries have been developed and incorporated into the BBB. This fortified BBB intelligence providing component is then transplanted into the structure of the Robotis Bioloid humanoid robot, after removing the latter’s original decision-making and implementing component (controller). Thus, this study revitalizes the Bioloid humanoid robot by converting it into a humanoid robot with multiple features that can be inherited using ROS. This is a first of its kind approach wherein ROS is used as the development framework in conjunction with the main BBB controller and the software impregnated with Python libraries is used to integrate robotic functions. A full ROS computation is developed and a high level Application Programming Interface (API) usable by software utilizing ROS services is also developed. In this revised two-legged-humanoid robot, USB2Dynamixel connector is used to operate the Dynamixel AX-12A actuators through the Wi-Fi interface of the fortified BBB. An accelerometer sensor supports balancing of the robot, and updates data to the BBB periodically. An Infrared (IR) sensor is used to detect obstacles. This dynamic model is used to actuate the motors mounted on the robot leg thereby resulting in a swing-stance period of the legs for a stable forward movement of the robot. The maximum walking speed of the robot is 0.5 feet/second, beyond this limit the robot becomes unstable. The angle at which the robot leans is governed by the feedback from the accelerometer sensor, which is 20 degrees. If the robot tilts beyond a specific degree, then it would come back to its standstill position and stop further movement. When the robot moves forward, the IR sensors sense obstacles in front of the robot. If an obstacle is detected within 35 cm, then the robot stops moving further. Implementation of ROS on top of the BBB (by replacing CM530 controller with the BBB) and using feedback controls from the accelerometer and IR sensor to control the two-legged robotic movement are the novelties of this work