UNR-PF: An open-source platform for cloud networked robotic services

This paper gives an overview of UNR-PF, an open-source, standards-based platform to enable multi-location daily life support services using abstracted functionality from a cloud of robots. Such services require seamless ability-adapted physical support and interaction across multiple areas, provided through collaboration of multiple robots, ubiquitous sensors and smartphones over a network. UNR-PF provides a common infrastructure that separates development of service applications and hardware-based components and intelligently mediates between them. First, we summarize the requirements and design goals initiated in previous work and then describe how the platform was integrated by outlining the implementation of the internal modules and APIs. Finally, we explain how to use UNR-PF by the example of a simple life support scenario and discuss practical aspects of component and service development for integration of a robotic service.