Integrating systems in robotics

Developing software for controlling robotic systems is costly due to the complexity inherent in these systems. There is a need for tools that permit a reduction in the programming efforts, aiming at the generation of modular and robust applications, and promoting software reuse. The techniques which are of common use today in other areas are not adequate to deal with the complexity associated with these systems. This document presents CoolBOT, a component oriented framework for programming robotic systems, based on a port automata model that fosters controllability and observability of software components. A simple demonstrator illustrates the benefits of using the proposed approach.