HumanPT: Architecture for Low Cost Robotic Applications

In this paper an architecture for low cost robotic applications as well as its implementation in a commercial robot is presented. HumanPT architecture differs than other architectures because it is implemented on existing robotic systems (robot + robotic controller) and exploits the minimum communication facilities for real-time control that these systems provide. It is based on well-known communication methods like serial communication (USB, RS232, IEEE-1394) and Windows sockets (server-client model) and permits an important number of different type of components like actuators, sensors and particularly vision systems to be connected in a robotic system. The operating system (OS) used is Microsoft Windows, the most widely spread OS. The proposed architecture exploits features of this OS that is not a real-time one, to ensure - in case that the robotic system provide such a facility-control and real time communication with the robotic system controller and to integrate by means of sensors and actuators an important number of robotic tasks and procedures. The proposed architecture provides the possibility in small enterprises to be automated enhancing in this way their production