Real-time network system by responsive processor and its application to bilateral robot control

This paper presents a new network device, which is named responsive processor, plus its message handler, which is a basic protocol for the device. These are designed for a hard real-time control application such as a robot control. By using the responsive processor and message handler, we developed a bilateral robot system that transfers haptic impression over a network. First, we discuss the network system requirements from the view of real-time control. Then, we introduce the main features and functions of the responsive processor. Implementation of the message handler, which is designed to maintain real-time performance, is described in detail. Benchmarks for using the message handler with the responsive processor are also shown. The results of experiments conducted on a bilateral robot system verified real-time performance of the entire system.