Middleware Structure for Module-based Personal Robot

Abstract

This paper proposes a middleware structure for the module-based personal robot, which can run on heterogeneous network interfaces and provides users easy interface-method regardless of underlying heterogeneous interfaces and convenient exchange of modules. The proposed middleware is divided into three layers of a streaming layer (SL), a network adaptation layer (NAL) and a network interface layer (NIL). The streaming layer manages application transactions using middleware services and provides user a uniform interfaces to the proposed middleware. The network adaptation layer manages a message-routing and provides naming service and it is a core of the proposed middleware. And the network interfaces layer manages dependent parts of heterogeneous network interfaces such as IEEE1394, USB, Ethernet, and CAN (Control Area Network). This paper implements the proposed middleware structure, where 3 types of interfaces of IEEE 1394, USB and Ethernet are used, and measures response times among those interfaces.