5 research outputs found
RobotKube: Orchestrating Large-Scale Cooperative Multi-Robot Systems with Kubernetes and ROS
Modern cyber-physical systems (CPS) such as Cooperative Intelligent Transport
Systems (C-ITS) are increasingly defined by the software which operates these
systems. In practice, microservice architectures can be employed, which may
consist of containerized microservices running in a cluster comprised of robots
and supporting infrastructure. These microservices need to be orchestrated
dynamically according to ever changing requirements posed at the system.
Additionally, these systems are embedded in DevOps processes aiming at
continually updating and upgrading both the capabilities of CPS components and
of the system as a whole. In this paper, we present RobotKube, an approach to
orchestrating containerized microservices for large-scale cooperative
multi-robot CPS based on Kubernetes. We describe how to automate the
orchestration of software across a CPS, and include the possibility to monitor
and selectively store relevant accruing data. In this context, we present two
main components of such a system: an event detector capable of, e.g.,
requesting the deployment of additional applications, and an application
manager capable of automatically configuring the required changes in the
Kubernetes cluster. By combining the widely adopted Kubernetes platform with
the Robot Operating System (ROS), we enable the use of standard tools and
practices for developing, deploying, scaling, and monitoring microservices in
C-ITS. We demonstrate and evaluate RobotKube in an exemplary and reproducible
use case that we make publicly available at
https://github.com/ika-rwth-aachen/robotkube .Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables; Accepted to be published as part of the
26th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems
(ITSC), Bilbao, Spain, September 24-28, 202
AUTOtech.agil: architecture and technologies for orchestrating automotive agility
Future mobility will be electrified, connected and automated. This opens completely new possibilities for mobility concepts that have the chance to improve not only the quality of life but also road safety for everyone. To achieve this, a transformation of the transportation system as we know it today is necessary. The UNICARagil project, which ran from 2018 to 2023, has produced architectures for driverless vehicles that were demonstrated in four full-scale automated vehicle prototypes for different applications. The AUTOtech.agil project builds upon these results and extends the system boundaries from the vehicles to include the whole intelligent transport system (ITS) comprising, e.g., roadside units, coordinating instances and cloud backends. The consortium was extended mainly by industry partners, including OEMs and tier 1 suppliers with the goal to synchronize the concepts developed in the university-driven UNICARagil project with the automotive industry. Three significant use cases of future mobility motivate the consortium to develop a vision for a Cooperative Intelligent Transport System (C-ITS), in which entities are highly connected and continually learning. The proposed software ecosystem is the foundation for the complex software engineering task that is required to realize such a system. Embedded in this ecosystem, a modular kit of robust service-oriented modules along the effect chain of vehicle automation as well as cooperative and collective functions are developed. The modules shall be deployed in a service-oriented E/E platform. In AUTOtech.agil, standardized interfaces and development tools for such platforms are developed. Additionally, the project focuses on continuous uncertainty consideration expressed as quality vectors. A consistent safety and security concept shall pave the way for the homologation of the researched ITS