Modularized software for multi-modular self-reconfigurable robotics

After having described our Hardware- and Software-Architecture and the corresponding Interface-Design in previous publications ([1],[2],[3]) we put these elements together in the paper at hand. The use of well-known, but previously considered too heavy-weighted standards, like PO-SIX, Ethernet and SOAP, is completely new in the field of Multi-Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robots (MSR). We show the feasibility, usability and the advantages of this approach by incorporating these standards into our implementation. Systematic modularization on all levels from hardware through Linux processes to the user interface results in a robotic system that is robust, flexible and scalable. These properties are achieved by our deliberate decisions about the specific implementation, interaction and their consequences for every single part of the system. We recommend this integrated architecture as a template for future MSR platforms. The experimental results shown, confirm our claims about the properties of the overall system design.