Application-independent and component-isolated system and system of systems framework

• US 8,521,359 B1
• Filed: 11/14/2011
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Distrix Networks Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Spark Integration Technologies Inc.
• Inventors: Trytten, Chad D., Angerilli, Anthony J. V., Mackay, Kenneth J.
• Primary Examiner(s): MARC-COLEMAN, MARTHE Y
• Application Number:
  US13/295,993
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• Field of Search: 701/36, 701/28, 709/202, 709/203, 709/201, 709/219, 709/221, 707/999.203, 707/999.1, 717/173, 717/178, 700/245, 700/257, 700/248, 700/95, 700/181, 700/2, 700/249, 700/250, 700/83, 700/255, 700/253, 713/100, 706/20, 706/14, 706/25, 706/26, 706/10, 706/50, 706/46, 706/59, 706/61
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/35 model driven
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications

Abstract

Embodiments of an application-independent and component-isolated system and system of systems framework are provided. In some embodiments, a Distributed Integration Operating Schema (“DIOS”) framework allows integration of disparate software and hardware components and permits addition, removal, modification, failure of, and information exchange among such components. In some embodiments, DIOS uses an information model that comprises a user-defined hierarchy of information objects to facilitate communication of information among agents of a control system.

Claims

1. A distributed robotic control system comprising:

one or more processors each configured to execute at least one agent stored in a non-transitory computer storage medium, the at least one agent comprising an implementation of a behavior based at least in part on an information representation of data available through access associations between information representations of other agents, one or more agents configured to exchange information through an information model comprising a hierarchy of information objects, wherein each agent is associated with a subset of the information objects in the hierarchy;

an input device configured to receive an input signal from an environment in which a robot operates and, in response to the received input signal, to provide input data;

wherein one of the one or more processors comprises a first client processor configured to receive the input data, the first client processor executing a first input agent configured to provide a first input information representation of the input data;

wherein one of the one or more processors comprises a first server processor configured to communicate with the agents executed on the one or more processors, the first server processor comprising;

a distribution module for communicating with access associations of the agents and distribution modules of other processors;

a model service module configured to synchronize information exchange between each of the one or more agents'"'"' access associations and between the one or more processors; and

a first control agent configured to provide a control information representation based at least in part on the first input information representation;

an output device configured to output an output signal for causing an action by the robot in the environment, the output signal generated in response to output data;

wherein one of the one or more processors comprises a second client processor comprising a first output agent configured to receive the control information representation and to provide the output data to the output device.

2. The distributed robotic control system of claim 1, wherein an agent comprises an interface providing access to the information model, the interface comprising a customized software object that includes a client configured to communicate to a server.

3. The distributed robotic control system of claim 1, wherein the control agent is configured to be capable of being executed on processors other than the first server processor.

4. The distributed robotic control system of claim 1, wherein the first input agent is configured to be executed on the first client processor and not on other processors or the first output agent is configured to be executed on the second client processor and not on other processors.

5. The distributed robotic control system of claim 1, wherein the first input information representation provided by the first input agent comprises minimally-processed input data and a processor other than the first client processor is configured to execute a second input agent that receives the input information and further processes the minimally-processed input data.

6. The distributed robotic control system of claim 1, wherein the model service module is configured to broker an information exchange between agents or is configured to establish a peer-to-peer connection between a plurality of agents having customized objects that broker the information exchange established by the model service.

7. The distributed robotic control system of claim 1, wherein the first control agent comprises a plurality of control agents, the plurality of control agents capable of being executed on processors other than the first server processor.

8. The distributed robotic control system of claim 1, wherein the first server processor is configured to execute a second input agent and to receive the input data from the input device, the second input agent configured to provide a second input information representation.

9. The robotic control system of claim 8, where the first input information representation and the second input information representation are the same.

10. The distributed robotic control system of claim 1, wherein the first server processor is configured to execute a second output agent that is configured to receive the control information representation from the control agent and to provide the output data to the output device.

11. The distributed robotic control system of claim 1, wherein the input device or the output device comprises a software system.

12. The distributed robotic control system of claim 11, wherein the software system comprises a legacy software system, a virtual software system, or a simulated software system.

13. The distributed robotic control system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first client processor and the second client processor comprises a hardware platform that comprises a standard board and a device-specific device I/O board.

14. The distributed robotic control system of claim 13, wherein the standard board comprises a control partition, a communication partition, and a power partition,

the control partition comprising a processor to host one or more agents, a data and memory bus, and is configured to mediate communication and power flow between the communication partition, the power partition, and the device I/O board;

the communication partition comprising hardware for supporting connections for monitoring and management of data flow through one or more networks and for bridging control of the hardware to the control partition;

the power partition comprising hardware for supporting management and transfer of one or more power sources to the device I/O board, wherein supporting management and transfer comprises monitoring voltage, current, and resistance, limiting power flow including on/off and bridging control of the hardware to the control partition; and

wherein the device I/O board comprises device-specific power and communication physical connectors and supporting hardware for device-specific communication protocol and power source requirements.

15. The distributed robotic control system of claim 14, wherein the hardware platform further comprises a universal connector comprising a physical connector having power lines for the power partition and communication lines for the communication partition.

16. The distributed robotic control system of claim 14, wherein the standard board and the device I/O board are implemented as the same board.

17. The distributed robotic control system of claim 14, wherein the device I/O board is implemented as a separate expansion board from the standard board.

18. The distributed robotic control system of claim 14, wherein the standard board comprises a universal connection device comprising hardware circuitry and software control to convert upstream power and data sources to meet communication and power needs of the standard board independent of upstream power and data sources.

19. The distributed robotic control system of claim 14, wherein the standard board comprises a universal connection device comprising hardware circuitry and software control to monitor and manage data flow through one or more networks and to monitor and manage power comprising monitoring voltages, current, and resistance and limiting power flow including on and off for each connected hardware platform.

20. The distributed robotic control system of claim 13, wherein the first client processor comprises a first hardware platform comprising a first standard board and a first device-specific device I/O board, the second client processor comprises a second hardware platform comprising a second standard board and a second device-specific device I/O board, wherein the first standard board and the second standard board are implemented as the same board and wherein the first device I/O board is implemented to be specific to the input device and the second device I/O board is implemented to be specific to the output device.