A Framework for robust mobile robot systems
Abstract
Fielded mobile robot systems will inevitably suffer hardware and software failures. Failures in a single subsystem can often disable the entire robot, especially if the controlling application does not consider such failures. Often simple measures, such as a software restart or the use of a secondary sensor, can solve the problem. However, these fixes must generally be applied by a human expert, who might not be present in the field. In this paper, we describe a recovery-oriented framework for mobile robot applications which addresses this problem in two ways. First, fault isolation automatically provides graceful degradation of the overall system as individual software and hardware components fail. In addition, subsystems are monitored for known failure modes or aberrant behavior. The framework responds to detected or immanent failures by restarting or replacing the suspect component in a manner transparent to the application programmer and the robot's operator.
Copyright 2004 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. This paper was published in Proceedings of the SPIE: Mobile Robots and is made available as an electronic reprint with permission of SPIE. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic or multiple reproduction, distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.
BibTeX
@conference{Melchior-2004-9063,author = {Nicholas Melchior and William D. Smart},
title = {A Framework for robust mobile robot systems},
booktitle = {Proceedings of SPIE Mobile Robots XVII},
year = {2004},
month = {October},
editor = {Douglas W. Gage},
volume = {5609},
pages = {145 - 154},
keywords = {autonomic, recovery-oriented, mobile robotics, software architecture},
}