A Multi-Protocol Real-Time Communication Method and System for Pipeline Robots

Abstract

This invention discloses a multi-protocol real-time communication method and system for pipeline robots, belonging to the field of pipeline robot technology. First, an S3C6410 core board is connected to various interfaces to construct a multi-protocol real-time communication platform for the pipeline robot. Then, the communication protocol program for the pipeline robot is mounted on the S3C6410 core board. Finally, an algorithm combining publish / subscribe and monitoring mechanisms is used to achieve multi-protocol real-time communication. The system of this invention is simple to construct, connects interfaces for multiple real-time communication protocols, and has a certain degree of versatility, applicable to most current industrial communication applications. While ensuring communication efficiency, it increases the status feedback of the pipeline robot's movements, improving communication reliability and providing favorable conditions for weld inspection inside pipelines.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of pipeline robot technology, specifically relating to a multi-protocol real-time communication method and system for pipeline robots. Background Technology

[0002] When pipeline robots inspect weld seams inside pipelines, they need to use some inspection equipment or instruments such as ultrasonic phased arrays, cameras, electromagnetic thickness gauges, and position sensors to complete the inspection, which requires real-time communication between multiple devices and instruments.

[0003] Because instruments and equipment such as ultrasonic phased arrays, cameras, and electromagnetic thickness gauges use different communication protocols, and these protocols also differ from those used for motion control communication of pipeline robots, it would be time-consuming and costly to design instruments and equipment with a unified communication protocol. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a multi-protocol real-time communication method and system for pipeline robots, which has good versatility and improves communication reliability while ensuring communication efficiency.

[0005] This invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0006] This invention discloses a multi-protocol real-time communication method for pipeline robots, comprising:

[0007] S1: Connect the S3C6410 core board to each interface to build a multi-protocol real-time communication platform for the pipeline robot;

[0008] S2: The communication protocol program for the pipeline robot is installed on the S3C6410 core board;

[0009] S3: Employs an algorithm that combines publish / subscribe and monitoring mechanisms to achieve real-time multi-protocol communication.

[0010] Preferably, S1 specifically comprises: the CAN controller of the S3C6410 core board is connected to the CAN interface; the Ethernet controller of the S3C6410 core board is connected to the RJ45 interface; the UART0 serial port of the S3C6410 core board is connected to the RS232 interface; the UART1 serial port of the S3C6410 core board is connected to the RS485 interface; and the USB controller of the S3C6410 core board is connected to the USB interface.

[0011] More preferably, S2 specifically involves: performing CAN bus initialization and transceiver programs on the S3C6410 core board, implementing TCP / IP image transmission programs suitable for network cameras, communication programs suitable for general serial ports, and Modbus communication programs suitable for RS485 and RJ45 interfaces, and modularizing each program.

[0012] Preferably, S3 includes:

[0013] S3.1: Establish a publish / subscribe mechanism for multi-protocol real-time communication;

[0014] S3.2: Establish a monitoring mechanism for multi-protocol real-time communication;

[0015] S3.3: Combine the publish / subscribe mechanism for multi-protocol real-time communication established in S3.1 with the monitoring mechanism for multi-protocol real-time communication established in S3.2 to form a publish / subscribe + monitoring mechanism for multi-protocol real-time communication.

[0016] More preferably, S3.1 specifically involves: setting up a topic manager, publisher, subscriber, and nodes, determining the number of pipeline robot nodes, with the topic manager serving as middleware for the multi-protocol real-time communication publish / subscribe mechanism, and each node publishing a topic and each node subscribing to a topic doing so through the topic manager.

[0017] More preferably, S3.2 specifically involves: matching publishing nodes and subscription nodes based on the same topics in the topic manager set in S3.1; dynamically adjusting the number of publishing and subscription topics in the topic manager; and for a given topic, after the topic manager finds mutually matching publishing and subscription nodes, performing point-to-point communication between the publishing and subscription nodes.

[0018] More preferably, the topic manager uses a flow control algorithm to dynamically adjust the number of topics published and subscribed.

[0019] More preferably, after the publishing node and the subscribing node achieve peer-to-peer communication, the topic manager is no longer needed to help complete the communication, and at this time the topic manager loses its monitoring of the topic.

[0020] More preferably, S3.3 specifically involves: for a specific publish / subscribe mechanism and monitoring mechanism, combining 5 topics; the 5 topics are purpose, progress, abandonment, situation, and answer, and grouping these 5 topics together, where progress and situation represent a certain detection process of the combined pipeline robot, purpose and answer represent the result of a certain detection process of the combined pipeline robot, and abandonment represents the action of a certain detection process of the combined pipeline robot.

[0021] This invention discloses a system for implementing the aforementioned multi-protocol real-time communication method for pipeline robots, comprising an S3C6410 core board, a CAN interface, an RJ45 interface, an RS232 interface, an RS485 interface, a USB interface, and a power supply. The S3C6410 core board is connected to the CAN interface, RJ45 interface, RS232 interface, RS485 interface, and USB interface, respectively, and is powered by the power supply. Compared with the prior art, this invention has the following beneficial technical effects:

[0022] This invention discloses a multi-protocol real-time communication method for pipeline robots. The multi-protocol real-time communication algorithm adopts a publish / subscribe + monitoring mechanism. By setting nodes and topics and managing and monitoring them, multi-protocol real-time communication is achieved. This method avoids the hardware overhead of parallel multi-protocol real-time communication and offers higher communication efficiency compared to serial multi-protocol real-time communication. Through node registration and topic management, the real-time communication process is effectively controlled, and monitoring of key topics provides real-time feedback of important information, facilitating robot motion control. The S3C6410 core board utilizes the chip's multimedia format encoder for video and image processing, providing hardware support for video and image transmission. The board also has comprehensive interfaces, enabling the design of multi-protocol communication interfaces. While ensuring communication efficiency, this method monitors the pipeline robot's motion control interface by registering nodes and publishing / subscribing to topics, enabling feedback on the pipeline robot's motion status and improving communication reliability, thus providing favorable conditions for weld inspection within pipelines.

[0023] The system disclosed in this invention for implementing the above-mentioned multi-protocol real-time communication method for pipeline robots is simple to construct, has interfaces for multiple real-time communication protocols, has a certain degree of versatility, and can be applied to most current industrial communication applications. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the multi-protocol real-time communication platform system for pipeline robots according to the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the method flow of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the communication principle of the publish / subscribe + monitoring mechanism of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. This description is intended to explain the invention and not to limit it.

[0028] like Figure 1The pipeline robot multi-protocol real-time communication system of the present invention includes: an S3C6410 core board, a CAN interface, an RJ45 interface, an RS232 interface, an RS485 interface, a USB interface, and a power supply. The S3C6410 core board connects to multiple real-time communication interfaces and carries a multi-protocol real-time communication algorithm to complete multi-protocol real-time communication for the pipeline robot. The CAN interface facilitates the connection of CAN bus devices and instruments. The RJ45 interface facilitates the connection of TCP / IP industrial devices and instruments. The RS232 interface facilitates the connection of serial port devices and instruments. The RS485 interface facilitates the connection of Modbus interface devices and instruments. The USB interface facilitates the connection of USB interface devices and instruments. The S3C6410 core board is powered by the power supply.

[0029] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 A multi-protocol real-time communication method for pipeline robots includes the following steps:

[0030] The first step is to build a multi-protocol real-time communication platform for pipeline robots.

[0031] The S3C6410 core board, power supply, CAN interface, RJ45 interface, RS232 interface, RS485 interface, and USB interface are electrically connected to complete the construction of a real-time communication platform. Specifically, the CAN controller of the S3C6410 core board is connected to the CAN interface, the Ethernet controller is connected to the RJ45 interface, the UART0 is connected to the RS232 interface, the UART1 is connected to the RS485 interface, and the USB controller is connected to the USB interface.

[0032] The second step is to install the communication protocol program for the pipeline robot on the S3C6410 core board.

[0033] Implement CAN bus initialization and transceiver programs on the S3C6410 core board, implement TCP / IP image transmission programs suitable for network cameras, implement general serial communication programs, implement Modbus communication programs suitable for RS485 and RJ45 interfaces, and modularize each program.

[0034] The third step is to use a publish / subscribe + monitoring mechanism algorithm to achieve real-time multi-protocol communication.

[0035] (1) Establish a publish / subscribe mechanism for multi-protocol real-time communication.

[0036] Based on the S3C6410 core board, the system includes a node manager, nodes, a topic manager, publishers, subscribers, connectors, and a monitor. The node manager is responsible for node registration and updating node information. Nodes register for topic publishing and subscription, publish messages, and process messages. Publishers and subscribers are configured for specific topics; multiple publishing nodes share the same connection for the same topic, and multiple subscribing nodes share the same connection for the same topic. Connectors monitor data transmission and reception and send callbacks of node status information. The monitor sends callbacks of node and inter-node data transmission and reception status information to the node manager. The topic manager manages the topics of each node, essentially managing the publishing and receiving of a series of topics. The topic manager acts as middleware for a multi-protocol real-time communication publish / subscribe mechanism; each node must publish a topic through this middleware, and each node must subscribe to a topic through the same middleware. This middleware, the topic manager, allows multiple publishing nodes and multiple subscribing nodes to share the same connection for the same topic.

[0037] (2) Establish a multi-protocol real-time communication mechanism.

[0038] Based on the published / subscribed communication mechanism established in the previous step, a multi-protocol real-time communication mechanism is built. This involves matching publishing and subscribing nodes for the same topic in the topic manager. The topic manager uses a flow control algorithm to dynamically adjust the number of published and subscribed topics. For a given topic, once the topic manager finds matching publishing and subscribing nodes, it will initiate point-to-point communication between them. After point-to-point communication is established, the topic manager is no longer needed to facilitate communication. Similarly, the topic manager loses its monitoring of that topic. Sometimes, even if the topic manager malfunctions, some point-to-point communications may still continue normally.

[0039] (3) Implement multi-protocol real-time communication with publish / subscribe + monitoring mechanism.

[0040] Pipeline robot inspection of internal welds is a process that requires real-time feedback on inspection results and progress. The publish / subscribe communication mechanism established in the previous two steps is insufficient. Therefore, the publish / subscribe and monitoring mechanisms are combined to form a multi-protocol real-time communication mechanism combining publish / subscribe and monitoring. Specifically, for a given publish / subscribe + monitoring mechanism, five topics are combined: purpose, progress, abandonment, status, and answer. These five topics are grouped together, where progress and status represent a specific inspection process of the combined pipeline robot, purpose and answer represent the result of a specific inspection process, and abandonment represents the action of a specific inspection process.

[0041] It should be noted that the above description is only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and all equivalent changes made to the system described in this invention are included within the protection scope of this invention. Those skilled in the art can make similar substitutions to the specific examples described, as long as they do not deviate from the structure of the invention or exceed the scope defined in these claims, all of which fall within the protection scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A multi-protocol real-time communication method for pipeline robots, characterized in that, include: S1: Connect the S3C6410 core board to each interface to build a multi-protocol real-time communication platform for the pipeline robot; S2: The communication protocol program for the pipeline robot is installed on the S3C6410 core board; S3: Employs an algorithm that combines publish / subscribe and monitoring mechanisms to achieve real-time multi-protocol communication; S3 includes: S3.1: Establish a publish / subscribe mechanism for multi-protocol real-time communication; S3.1 specifically involves setting up a topic manager, publisher, subscriber, and nodes, determining the number of pipeline robot nodes, and using the topic manager as middleware for the multi-protocol real-time communication publish / subscribe mechanism. Each node publishes a topic and each node subscribes to a topic through the topic manager. S3.2: Establish a monitoring mechanism for multi-protocol real-time communication; Specifically, S3.2 involves: matching publishing nodes and subscription nodes based on the same topics in the topic manager set in S3.1; dynamically adjusting the number of publishing and subscription topics in the topic manager; and for a given topic, once the topic manager finds matching publishing and subscription nodes, enabling point-to-point communication between the publishing and subscription nodes. S3.3: Combine the publish / subscribe mechanism for multi-protocol real-time communication established in S3.1 with the monitoring mechanism for multi-protocol real-time communication established in S3.2 to form a multi-protocol real-time communication mechanism with publish / subscribe and monitoring. S3.3 Specifically, for a specific publish / subscribe mechanism and monitoring mechanism, five topics are combined; the five topics are purpose, progress, abandonment, situation, and answer. These five topics are grouped together, where progress and situation represent a certain detection process of the combined pipeline robot, purpose and answer represent the result of a certain detection process of the combined pipeline robot, and abandonment represents the action of a certain detection process of the combined pipeline robot.

2. The multi-protocol real-time communication method for pipeline robots according to claim 1, characterized in that, Specifically, S1 consists of: the CAN controller of the S3C6410 core board connected to the CAN interface; the Ethernet controller of the S3C6410 core board connected to the RJ45 interface; the UART0 serial port of the S3C6410 core board connected to the RS232 interface; the UART1 serial port of the S3C6410 core board connected to the RS485 interface; and the USB controller of the S3C6410 core board connected to the USB interface.

3. The multi-protocol real-time communication method for pipeline robots according to claim 2, characterized in that, S2 specifically involves initializing the CAN bus and implementing transceiver programs on the S3C6410 core board. This includes implementing TCP / IP image transmission programs suitable for network cameras, communication programs suitable for general serial ports, and Modbus communication programs suitable for RS485 and RJ45 interfaces. Each program is then modularized.

4. The multi-protocol real-time communication method for pipeline robots according to claim 1, characterized in that, The topic manager uses a flow control algorithm to dynamically adjust the number of topics published and subscribed to.

5. The multi-protocol real-time communication method for pipeline robots according to claim 1, characterized in that, Once the publishing and subscribing nodes achieve peer-to-peer communication, the topic manager is no longer needed to facilitate communication, and at this point, the topic manager loses its monitoring of the topic group.

6. A system for implementing the multi-protocol real-time communication method for pipeline robots according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, It includes an S3C6410 core board, a CAN interface, an RJ45 interface, an RS232 interface, an RS485 interface, a USB interface, and a power supply. The S3C6410 core board is connected to the CAN interface, RJ45 interface, RS232 interface, RS485 interface, and USB interface, respectively, and is powered by the power supply.

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