Application of parallel processing to intelligent control of mobile robots

Parallel processing plays an important role in sensor-based control of intelligent mobile robots. This paper describes a concurrent framework used for real-time control of a mobile robot. It is a hybrid control system containing low level real-time feedback control loops and high level decision-making components. Both synchronous and asynchronous communication schemes have been used in such a framework to handle complex tasks of a mobile robot in a complementary manner. The proposed framework allows for the integration all kinds of sensors and actuators to meet future needs.