Towards a Cloud-Controlled Heterogeneous Robot System Based on Microservices

With the widespread application of robot technology in automated manufacturing, extra-terrestrial operations, unmanned search, and other fields, the demand for robots in commercial scenarios has become increasingly complex, involving numerous different scenarios. The concept of cloud robots makes it easier to analyze and display robot data, achieving cloud-based sharing. However, due to differences in human-machine interaction, operational logic, access forms, and data structures between various equipment manufacturers, equipment maintenance and data analysis have become challenging. To address this issue, this paper presents a cloud-controlled heterogeneous robot system based on microservices, featuring a four-layer Robot as a Service (RaaS) architecture, combined with Remote Procedure Call (RPC) communication and microservice architecture, aimed at addressing the integration challenges of heterogeneous robots from different suppliers external to the system, as well as the internal incorporation of various services within the system, achieving data sharing and transparent access control, reducing the learning and management costs for maintenance personnel, and improving the efficiency of data analysis and presentation. This design solution has been validated through practical application, demonstrating its feasibility, versatility, scalability, and performance in large-scale development and deployment.