IRT-ROS Architecture for Robot Hardware Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial robot designs face high maintenance costs and difficulty in re-developing functions due to different hardware interfaces, requiring significant workload for reconfiguring Real-Time Operating Systems when hardware changes occur, and struggle to meet real-time performance and compatibility across various hardware platforms.
Innovation Solution
An Intelligent Real-Time Robot Operating System (IRT-ROS) architecture is introduced, comprising a General-Purpose OS kernel, a Real-Time OS kernel, and an Inter-processor Interrupt interface, along with an external I/O Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller, which allows for asymmetric multi-processing and communication between non-real-time and real-time processes, enabling efficient execution of both types of processes and reducing the workload for motion control and communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a Real-Time OS is reconfigured for new hardware devices, then the robot can support new hardware platforms, but the development workload and maintenance costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the operating system into two independent kernels: a General-Purpose OS kernel for hardware abstraction and compatibility, and a Real-Time OS kernel for control algorithms. This segmentation allows each kernel to operate independently, reducing the complexity of reconfiguring the entire system when hardware changes occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an Inter-processor Interrupt (IPI) interface as an intermediary mechanism between the General-Purpose OS kernel and the Real-Time OS kernel. This intermediary enables communication and coordination between the two kernels while maintaining their independence, allowing hardware changes to be handled by the General-Purpose OS without affecting the Real-Time OS.
2Reliability
If a single OS kernel is used for both general-purpose and real-time tasks, then system simplicity is maintained, but real-time performance cannot be guaranteed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the operating system into two separate kernels with distinct responsibilities: the General-Purpose OS kernel handles non-critical tasks and hardware management, while the Real-Time OS kernel handles time-critical control tasks. This segmentation ensures that real-time performance is guaranteed for control algorithms while maintaining system functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements an asymmetric multi-processing architecture where the two kernels have unequal but complementary roles. The Real-Time OS kernel is optimized for deterministic timing and control, while the General-Purpose OS kernel provides broader hardware support and flexibility. This asymmetric design allows each kernel to be optimized for its specific purpose without compromising the other.
3Productivity
If hardware interfaces are customized for specific robot platforms, then optimal performance is achieved, but maintenance costs and re-development difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The General-Purpose OS kernel serves as a universal layer that provides standardized hardware abstraction and driver support across different robot platforms. This universal interface allows the Real-Time OS kernel to remain platform-independent, reducing maintenance costs and re-development effort when hardware changes occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The IPI interface acts as an intermediary that standardizes communication between the General-Purpose OS and Real-Time OS kernels. This standardized interface allows hardware-specific implementations to be isolated in the General-Purpose OS layer, protecting the performance-optimized Real-Time OS from hardware variations and reducing maintenance complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An Intelligent Real-Time Robot Operating System (IRT-ROS) architecture and an operation method thereof are provided. The IRT-ROS architecture includes a General-Purpose OS kernel, a Real-Time OS kernel, and an Inter-processor Interrupt interface. The General-Purpose OS kernel is configured to run a General-Purpose OS to execute a non-real-time process. The Real-Time OS kernel is configured to run a Real-Time OS to execute a real-time process. The IPI interface is connected between the General-Purpose OS kernel and the Real-Time OS kernel, and is configured to support communication between the non-real-time process and the real-time process. The AIRT-ROS architecture allows Linux and RTERS to respectively execute non-real-time process and real-time process, and to respectively respond IRQ of non-real-time devices and IRQ of real-time devices. Communications between non-real-time process and real-time process are supported. Therefore, the workload for driving the general-purpose external devices is greatly reduced.