The robot’s hardware platform

The hardware platform will be a Wifibot 4 wheeled platform for the 1rst year contest. The objective will be to develop a new hardware platform for the next years based on a 6 wheeled rocker-bogie architecture.

 

Software

Hardware abstraction layer / Simulation layer

We will use several software tools to build the application modularly and incrementally with focusing on reducing the issues due to hardware interfaces like sensors data acquisition, motors control, etc.

See chapter Tools.

CoreControl

Basic functions set to move the robot from a place to another. It contains all functionnalities and integrates proper mecanical constrains that will depends on the robot hardware architecture.

CoreSlam

CoreSlam is a building block for simultaneously constructing the map and locating the robot.

CoreHMI

This will be a set of building blocks for displaying the sensors data and the reconstructed environment in real-time.

CoreKeyPoints

This block will contain the tools to detect, characterize and recognize objects in a visual scene. It will implement vision algorithms such as SURF and SIFT.

CoreMAP

The coreMap building block is central in our architecture; it will contains and store data of any kind, and will provide function and language to query this database. We want to use this block to store data coming from our differents sensors, laser scans, ulstrasonics sensors, video camera, distances, obstacles detected or recognized objects, ...

Tools

The following software tools have been chosen for the robot development:

anyKode Marilou

A robot simulator with physics simulation, sensors, actuators, etc.
marilou
Agile Robust Operating Services: a software framework being developped in the frame of an ANR project with Ecole des Mines Paristech / Intempora / INRIA / VALEO.
The robot runs the DOCH and Cables modules from the AROS project. DOHC provides distributed objects and memory management, Cables provides communication services, service advertisement, etc.

RTMaps

Real-Time Multisensor Advanced Prototyping Software from Intempora.
RTMaps provides a modular component-based development environment based on an asynchronous architecture.
It also provides record and playback functionalities for off-line rapid prototyping.
rtmaps