US 2003/0171846 A1 · Sensor and actuator abstraction and aggregation in a hardware abstraction layer for a robot

Abstract

The invention is related to methods and apparatus that provide a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) for a robot. A HAL can reside as a software layer or as a firmware layer residing between robot control software and underlying robot hardware and/or an operating system for the hardware. The HAL provides a relatively uniform abstract for aggregates of underlying hardware such that the underlying robotic hardware is transparent to perception and control software, i.e., robot control software. This advantageously permits robot control software to be written in a robot-independent manner. Developers of robot control software are then freed from tedious lower level tasks. Portability is another advantage. For example, the HAL efficiently permits robot control software developed for one robot to be ported to another. In one example, the HAL permits the same navigation algorithm to be ported from a wheeled robot and used on a humanoid legged robot.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A hardware abstraction layer (HAL) in a robot software architecture, the HAL comprising:

software interfaces to higher-level software, wherein the software interfaces are configured to communicate with the higher-level robotic software with real-world measurements relating to robot interaction with an environment;
a resource configuration that provides an indication of available resources the higher-level software;
a plurality of resource drivers, wherein at least a portion of the resource drivers correspond to the available resources in the resource configuration, wherein at least two of the resource drivers overlap in functionality, where only one of the at least two resource drivers has a corresponding resource available, where a resource driver for an available resource is configured to translate between real-world measurements for the robot and device-level measurements for a device;
and
an interface to lower-level device drivers, wherein the lower-level device drivers communicate with corresponding hardware at a device level, and where the interface to lower-level device drivers communicates to the higher-level software via a resource driver.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Sensor and actuator abstraction and aggregation in a hardware abstraction layer for a robot

Life of this patent

Sensor and actuator abstraction and aggregation in a hardware abstraction layer for a robot

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14