Robotics Dojo Blog

Trying to create anything from scratch can be quite daunting, and especially if you are venturing into it for the fast for the first time. From baking a cake to designing a robot, the goal may seem unattainable. However, with the right ingredients, a clear recipe and drive within, every mountain is surmountable. Key Questions It is important to break down the goal of your design to the most fundamental level. Ask yourself: What is the purpose of the robot I am building? How will the robot function? Where will my robot operate? How large should my robot be? Such questions are key to laying a foundation on the design process. Build up from these basic ones to advanced and specific questions about the functionality of the robot. This elucidates the true magnitude and complexity of the work at hand. It is also necessary in order to identify the components needed to achieve the desired performance. Creativity vs Actualization If you have watched half the number of movies I have, chances are...

  Introduction Software architecture, in general, both refers to the high-level structure of a system as well as to the process of ensuring that the structure or the design of a system is according to specific needs. For mobile robotics, specific requirements are, for example, real-time capabilities, asynchronous data processing, and distributed functionality. While there is a clear distinction between a design of a software architecture suitable for robotics and the particular reference design implementation, in practice, due to the complexity of the task, frameworks for robotics often come with a single reference implementation. Therefore, when comparing and choosing an appropriate software architecture, it is prudent to take into consideration not only the design but the suitability of the implementation as well. Architectural Patterns in Robotics 1. Blackboard The Blackboard architecture is inspired by problem-solving in a shared collaborative space — akin to how multiple spec...