Robot-Control Integration Engine for Protocol Translation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Facilitating communication between a control server and robotic devices in storage facilities is challenging due to differences in protocol and message schemes supported by various robotic devices and the control server, leading to compatibility issues and inefficiencies in process execution.
Innovation Solution
An integration engine is employed to receive and translate instructions between the control server and robotic devices, ensuring compatibility by identifying and translating protocol and message schemes to match the supported schemes of each device, thereby enabling seamless communication and execution of services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the control server uses a specific protocol scheme and message scheme, then the control server can operate efficiently, but it cannot communicate with robotic devices that support different protocol and message schemes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an integration engine as an intermediary component between the control server and robotic devices. The integration engine receives instructions from the control server in the first protocol scheme, translates them to the second protocol scheme, and forwards them to the robotic devices. This mediator resolves the incompatibility between different protocol schemes while maintaining efficient communication on both sides.
Solution Approach 2:
The integration engine dynamically changes protocol parameters by identifying the protocol scheme and message scheme supported by each robotic device, then translating instructions to match those parameters. This allows the system to adapt communication parameters based on the specific device being addressed, enabling universal compatibility across diverse robotic devices.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the storage facility onboards robotic devices from various vendors to maximize scalability, then the facility can handle more diverse tasks, but communication complexity increases due to different protocol and message schemes
Solution Approach 1:
The integration engine provides universal communication capability by supporting multiple protocol schemes and message schemes simultaneously. It can translate between different protocols (e.g., MQTT, HTTP, WebSocket) and message formats (e.g., JSON, XML), allowing the control server to communicate with any robotic device from any vendor through a single unified interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The integration engine acts as a mediator that absorbs the complexity of multiple communication protocols. Instead of the control server needing to implement multiple protocol handlers, the integration engine centralizes the translation logic, simplifying the overall system architecture while supporting diverse robotic devices.
3Speed
If instructions are transmitted directly from the control server to robotic devices without translation, then transmission speed is faster, but compatibility issues arise when protocol schemes differ
Solution Approach 1:
The integration engine performs preliminary translation of instructions before they are transmitted to the robotic devices. By pre-translating the protocol scheme and message scheme to match the target device's requirements, the system ensures compatibility without requiring re-transmission or retry logic, thus maintaining efficient communication speed.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for facilitating communication between a control server and robotic devices are provided. An integration engine of the system identifies protocol schemes and message schemes that are supported by the control server and robotic devices. When the protocol schemes and message schemes of the control server and the robotic devices are same, the integration engine facilitates transmission and reception of instructions between the control server and the robotic devices through identified communication interfaces. When the protocol schemes and message schemes of the control server and the robotic devices are different, the integration engine translates the protocol schemes and message schemes that are received from one of the control server and the robotic devices to facilitate communication between the control server and the robotic devices through identified communication interfaces.