Middleware Platform for Distributed Applications Incorporating Robots, Sensors and the Cloud

Abstract

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) in the factory of thefuture will consist of cloud-hosted software governing an agileproduction process that is executed by mobile robots and thatis controlled by analyzing the data from a vast number ofsensors. CPSs thus operate on a distributed production floorinfrastructure and the set-up continuously changes with eachnew manufacturing task. In this paper, we present our OSGibasedmiddleware that abstracts the deployment of servicebasedCPS software components on a distributed platformcomprising robots, actuators, sensors and the cloud. Moreover, our middleware provides specific support to develop componentsbased on artificial neural networks, a technique that recentlybecame very popular for sensor data analytics and robot control. We demonstrate a system where a robot takes actions based onthe input from sensors in its vicinity.