501 research outputs found
Towards Python-based Domain-specific Languages for Self-reconfigurable Modular Robotics Research
This paper explores the role of operating system and high-level languages in
the development of software and domain-specific languages (DSLs) for
self-reconfigurable robotics. We review some of the current trends in
self-reconfigurable robotics and describe the development of a software system
for ATRON II which utilizes Linux and Python to significantly improve software
abstraction and portability while providing some basic features which could
prove useful when using Python, either stand-alone or via a DSL, on a
self-reconfigurable robot system. These features include transparent socket
communication, module identification, easy software transfer and reliable
module-to-module communication. The end result is a software platform for
modular robots that where appropriate builds on existing work in operating
systems, virtual machines, middleware and high-level languages.Comment: Presented at DSLRob 2011 (arXiv:1212.3308
Shawn: A new approach to simulating wireless sensor networks
We consider the simulation of wireless sensor networks (WSN) using a new
approach. We present Shawn, an open-source discrete-event simulator that has
considerable differences to all other existing simulators. Shawn is very
powerful in simulating large scale networks with an abstract point of view. It
is, to the best of our knowledge, the first simulator to support generic
high-level algorithms as well as distributed protocols on exactly the same
underlying networks.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, Latex, to appear in Design, Analysis,
and Simulation of Distributed Systems 200
Modular Remote Reprogramming of Sensor Nodes
Wireless sensor networks are envisioned to be deployed in the absence of permanent network infrastructure and in environments with limited or no human accessibility. Hence, such deployments demand mechanisms to remotely (i.e., over the air) reconfigure and update the software on the nodes. In this paper we introduce DyTOS, a TinyOS based remote reprogramming approach that enables the dynamic exchange of software components and thus incrementally update the operating system and its applications. The core idea is to preserve the modularity of TinyOS, i.e., its componentisation, which is lost during the normal compilation process, and enable runtime composition of TinyOS components on the sensor node. The proposed solution integrates seamlessly into the system architecture of TinyOS: It does not require any changes to the programming model of TinyOS and all existing components can be reused transparently. Our evaluation shows that DyTOS incurs a low performance overhead while keeping a smaller – up to one third – memory footprint than other comparable solutions
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