Design of an embedded networking infrastructure for whole-body tactile sensing in humanoid robots

Whole-body tactile sensing, especially when aimed at implementing tactile-based motion control, requires well-defined infrastructures. Requirements related to Real-Time operation, bandwidth and robustness must be carefully addressed. With respect to a tactile technology described in, this paper discusses a number of infrastructural solutions based on a Ethernet Real-Time protocol. Associated benefits and drawbacks are discussed. The identified models and solutions are compared both analytically and with extensive numerical simulations.