Sharing control [multiple miniature robots]

• Published in: IEEE robotics & automation magazine Vol. 9; no. 4; pp. 41 - 48
• Main Authors: Rybski, P.E., Stoeter, S.A., Papanikolopoulos, N.P., Burt, I., Dahlin, T., Gini, M., Hougen, D.F., Krantz, D.G., Nageotte, F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-12-2002; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Computer architecture; Control systems; Distributed control; Hardware; Robot control; Robot kinematics; Robot sensing systems; Robust control; Sensor systems; User interfaces
• ISSN: 1070-9932; 1558-223X
• DOI: 10.1109/MRA.2002.1160070

Presents a framework for the operation and coordination of multiple miniature robots. Simple teleoperation can be useful in many situations, but the operator's attention must be completely dedicated to controlling the robot. This may be difficult when the task requires the use of multiple robots. This article introduces a layered system that has been developed to facilitate multimodal control. This system includes user interfaces (UI) for teleoperation clients and robust sensor interpretation algorithms for autonomous control clients. A distributed software control architecture dynamically coordinates hardware resources and shares them between the various clients, allowing for simultaneous control of multiple robots.