Implementing a distributed sensing and actuation system: The CAMBADA robots case study

The use of distributed computing architectures has become commonplace in complex embedded systems with potential advantages, for example, in terms of scalability, dependability and maintainability. One particular area in which that trend can be witnessed is mobile autonomous robotics in which several sensors and actuators are interconnected by means of a control network. In this paper we address one case study concerning the CAMBADA robots that were developed at the University of Aveiro for the Robocup Middle Size League. These robots have a distributed architecture with two layers, a coordination layer responsible for the global behaviors and a distributed sensing and actuating layer that conveys internal state information and executes coordination commands. This paper focuses on the latter layer, which is based on the FTT-CAN protocol, following a network-centric approach that provides an efficient framework for the synchronization of all systems activities. We describe the computing and communication requirements, the robot architecture, the system design and implementation, and finally we provide experimental results that show advantages with respect to a non-synchronized distributed approach