Robotic Controller Configuration for Thread-Safe Real-Time Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Developing robotic controllers is time-intensive and costly due to the need for custom state machines, hardware communication, and data processing across multiple threads and processes, with existing solutions lacking efficient configuration and customization tools.
Innovation Solution
A robotic control system featuring a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows users to access a data storage unit, a manipulator controller, and a data transfer layer, with a configurable hardware communication layer and thread-safe data pool, enabling customization and synchronization of robotic controllers using markup languages like XML and QML.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If custom control programs are written for each robotic application, then the controller can be tailored to specific hardware and tasks, but the development time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal robot controller architecture that can handle multiple robotic applications and hardware types through a standardized framework. The controller uses configurable parameters and modular components that can be adapted to different robot models without requiring complete custom programming, thus reducing development time while maintaining versatility
Solution Approach 2:
The control program is divided into modular segments including hardware abstraction layers, state machine templates, and configurable parameter sets. This segmentation allows developers to reuse proven modules across different applications and only customize the specific segments needed for each robot type, significantly reducing overall development effort
2Extent of automation
If comprehensive state machines are created to handle all events, then the controller can manage complex robotic operations, but the complexity of creating and connecting hardware inputs/outputs increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a hardware abstraction layer that acts as an intermediary between physical hardware inputs/outputs and the state machine logic. This layer provides standardized interfaces and translation mechanisms, allowing state machines to handle complex events without directly managing the complexity of hardware connections, thus reducing the burden of creating and connecting hardware inputs and outputs
3Productivity
If data is processed across multiple threads and processes, then the controller can handle concurrent operations efficiently, but ensuring thread safety and proper data transfer becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs message queues and synchronization primitives as intermediaries between parallel threads and processes. These intermediaries provide standardized mechanisms for safe data exchange, including automatic locking, memory barriers, and event synchronization, which ensure thread safety while maintaining high concurrent processing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms through event-driven architecture where threads communicate through standardized event channels. This feedback loop includes automatic error detection, state validation, and synchronization confirmation, ensuring that data transfers between threads maintain reliability while enabling efficient concurrent operations
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments included herein are directed towards a system and method for robotic control. The system may include a graphical user interface configured to allow a user to access a data storage unit associated with a robot. The system may further include a configurable portion including the data storage unit, a manipulator controller, and a data transfer layer. The system may also include a generic portion configured to parse the configurable portion to generate a robotic controller.