Development of a Client-Server Communication Method for Matlab/ Simulink Based Remote Robotics Experiments

This paper describes the development of a client-server communication method using the TCP/IP protocol to run Matlab/Simulink compatible motion control units operating on the remote server side. The developed method is currently in use to allow access to a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) robot simulator developed for both on-site and remote use at the Control Laboratory in the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The client-server communication is developed in C/C++ using wxWidgets to communicate with the Matlab/Simulink downloadable DS1104, which is used to develop a variety of robot dynamics configurations and control algorithms on the robotic simulator. Practical case study results from a remotely conducted graduate robotics project are also presented in relation to a HIL simulator developed for the real-time simulation of PUMA-type robots. The UAF remote laboratory Web site can be accessed at: http://www.uaf.edu/ece/remote-robotics