Utilization of PSoC-5 for sensor data acquisition in a semi-autonomous robotic platform

This paper introduces a semi-autonomous robotic platform for future planetary exploration. The Microcontroller Unit (MCU) of this platform is reconfigurable to support varied demands of scientific applications using Programmable System on Chip (PSoC) technology. The PSoC acquires and processes sensor data, then relays the data to a remote control station. The platform supports three modes of operations: (1) anytime user remote-control mode, (2) limited time autonomous control mode, and (3) mixed-control mode, which assigns certain tasks to run in automated execution mode, while reserving critical or complex tasks for user-controlled execution. The real-time task scheduling for precise control is supported by the Micrium μC/OS-III realtime operating system (RTOS). The use of such an RTOS also allows interleaving of data acquisition for enhancing effective bandwidth.