SIERA: A Multiprocessor System For Robotics

Peter Kazanzides; Hamid Wasti; W. A. Wolovich

doi:10.1117/12.937755

27 March 1987 SIERA: A Multiprocessor System For Robotics

Peter Kazanzides, Hamid Wasti, W. A. Wolovich

Proceedings Volume 0726, Intelligent Robots and Computer Vision V; (1987) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.937755
Event: Cambridge Symposium_Intelligent Robotics Systems, 1986, Cambridge, MA, United States

Abstract

This paper describes SIERA (System for Implementing and Evaluating Robotic Algorithms), which has been developed at the Laboratory for Engineering Man/Machine Systems (LEMS) at Brown University. SIERA was created to satisfy the requirement for a multiprocessor-based development system flexible enough to be used for research into new robotic algorithms, especially those that utilize externally sensed information, such as vision and force. A multiprocessor architecture has been developed that incorporates a tightly coupled bus-based system for real-time servoing and a loosely coupled point-to-point network for less time-critical operations. SIERA is capable of controlling many types of commercially available robots since all input and output is done via general-purpose I/O boards. Suitably constructed robot interface boards are used to condition all feedback signals and to amplify the control outputs to the proper drive levels. We have constructed robot interface boards for the IBM 7565 and PUMA 560 manipulators in LEMS, and have controlled both robots using SIERA. The operating system used for SIERA has been designed to provide maximum flexibility in implementing new robotic algorithms. The concept of programming levels has been introduced to classify the different ways SIERA can be utilizedÃ¢â‚¬â€?for simple robot control, for robotics research, and for system enhancements. The main benefit of SIERA is that it is now possible to experimentally implement and evaluate a variety of algorithms in areas such as compliant control, visual servoing, and inverse kinematics.

Citation Download Citation

Peter Kazanzides, Hamid Wasti, and W. A. Wolovich "SIERA: A Multiprocessor System For Robotics", Proc. SPIE 0726, Intelligent Robots and Computer Vision V, (27 March 1987); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.937755

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