Sensor and actuator abstraction and aggregation in a hardware abstraction layer for a robot
First Claim
1. 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.
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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.
84 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A hardware abstraction layer (HAL) in a robot software architecture, the HAL comprising:
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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. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method in a robot of providing hardware abstraction for robot control software, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of resource drivers for the robot, where the plurality of resource drivers includes resource drivers for which no corresponding hardware is present on the robot;
detecting a hardware configuration for the robot;
automatically detecting resources that are available on the robot based on the detected hardware configuration;
receiving a request from the robot control software to use a type of resource;
automatically selecting a resource from the available resources that corresponds to the type of resource requested by the robot control software;
exchanging a first information with the robot control software, where the first information is related to use of the selected resource and is provided in a unit of measure that is related to a robot;
exchanging a second information with a low-level device driver corresponding to the resource, where the second information is related to the use requested by the robot control software, where the second information is provided in a unit of measure that is related to a corresponding device, and where the second information is different than the first information; and
converting between the first information and the second information based on the detected configuration of the robot. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A hardware abstraction layer (HAL) in a robot for robot control software, the HAL comprising:
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means for providing a plurality of resource drivers for the robot, where the plurality of resource drivers includes resource drivers for which no corresponding hardware is present on the robot;
means for detecting a hardware configuration for the robot;
means for automatically detecting resources that are available on the robot based on the detected hardware configuration;
means for receiving a request from the robot control software to use a type of resource;
means for automatically selecting a resource from the available resources that corresponds to the type of resource requested by the robot control software;
means for exchanging a first information with the robot control software, where the first information is related to use of the selected resource and is provided in a unit of measure that is related to a robot;
means for exchanging a second information with a low-level device driver corresponding to the resource, where the second information is related to the use requested by the robot control software, where the second information is provided in a unit of measure that is related to a corresponding device, and where the second information is different than the first information; and
means for converting between the first information and the second information based on the detected configuration of the robot.
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14. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method comprising:
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providing a plurality of resource drivers for the robot, where the plurality of resource drivers includes resource drivers for which no corresponding hardware is present on the robot;
detecting a hardware configuration for the robot;
automatically detecting resources that are available on the robot based on the detected hardware configuration;
receiving a request from the robot control software to use a type of resource;
automatically selecting a resource from the available resources that corresponds to the type of resource requested by the robot control software;
exchanging a first information with the robot control software, where the first information is related to use of the selected resource and is provided in a unit of measure that is related to a robot;
exchanging a second information with a low-level device driver corresponding to the resource, where the second information is related to the use requested by the robot control software, where the second information is provided in a unit of measure that is related to a corresponding device, and where the second information is different than the first information; and
converting between the first information and the second information based on the detected configuration of the robot.
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Specification