Open Software Platform for Robotic Services

In this paper, an efficient development environment for vertical integration of many tasks involved with robot programming, called Open software Platform for Robotic Services (OPRoS), is presented. It covers from the control of hardware (HW) devices to the execution of complicated application programs. Based on general software (SW) architecture, standardized components with design patterns, frameworks, and servers are offered for developing robot SW applications easily and efficiently. Specially, an easy and one-stop Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and simulation tools are provided to make the management and debugging easier, and to check performance in advance. For an all-level development environment, the IDE of OPRoS supports development from low-level device controls to high-level contents composition, and hence, many programs ranging from HW device programs to complicated applications can be developed and integrated in a single development environment. Additionally, OPRoS makes all modules and components undergo the proper evaluation and test, which avoids potential errors due to incomplete coding. As a comprehensive platform for robot SW applications, OPRoS provides convenient environments for all development steps from editing through verification to execution.