This paper explains the design and implementation of functionally distributed control architecture that realizes real-time control of autonomous mobile robots. To operate successfully in human society, autonomous mobile robots must achieve both local and global control in real-time. We focus on robots operating in parallel, such as moving while sensing, and propose a functionally distributed control architecture designed as a parallel/distributed computer consisting of many functionally distributed modules. Each module has an exclusive Processing Unit (PU) that processes one function of robot, such as image processing, auditory processing, and wheel control, independently in real-time. The robot can perform global action by cooperating with such modules. We then evaluate the efficiency of the proposed architecture by implementing prototype robots based on this architecture.
Real-Time Obstacle Avoidance for a Swarm of Autonomous Mobile Robots
