A Robust Layered Control System for a Mobile Robot

Abstract

We describe a new architecture for controlling mobile robots. Layers of control system are built to let the robot operate at an increasing levels of competence. Layers are made up of asynchronous modules which communicate over low bandwidth channels. Each module is an instance of a fairly simple computational machine. Higher level layers can subsume the roles of lower levels by suppressing their outputs. However, lower levels continue to function as higher levels are added. The result is a robust and flexible robot control system. The system is intended to control a robot that wanders the office areas of our laboratory, building maps of its surroundings. In this paper, we demonstrate the system controlling a detailed simulation of the robot.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1985
Accession Number
ADA160833

Entities

People

  • R. A. Brooks

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Collision Avoidance
  • Computer Science
  • Computing System Architectures
  • Control Systems
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Dead Reckoning
  • Detectors
  • Environment
  • Inertial Navigation
  • Information Processing
  • Language
  • Measurement
  • Navigation
  • Range Finders
  • Robots
  • Simulations

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Mathematical Modeling and Probability Theory.
  • Robotics and Automation.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - Autonomous Systems
  • AI & ML - Neural Networks
  • Autonomy