A Review of Middleware for Networked Robots

Abstract

Networked robotic systems consist of a collection of interconnected components (being multiple robots working together or robots working with external systems such as wireless sensor networks or servers). These components require cooperation and collaboration to achieve a common goal. However application development for such collaborative distributed systems composed of many robots with sensors, embedded computers, and human users is very difficult. Therefore, middleware services can provide advanced approaches offering many possibilities and drastically enhancing the development process and the overall functionalities needed for networked robotic systems. This paper provides an overview study of networked robot middleware in this domain. It discusses middleware roles in networked robotic systems, provides different criteria for evaluating networked robot middleware, and presents some representative middleware solutions specifically designed for networked robots. Open issues in that domain are also discussed. Key words: