Advanced object-oriented techniques for modeling robotic systems

To investigate the underlying principles of a robotic system´s design and applications, appropriate specification and modeling tools which can facilitate the quantitative analysis as well as the qualitative analysis involving complex and/or dynamic data and relationships are essential. In this paper, advanced features embodied by dynamic role facilities have been introduced into a conventional object-oriented model, which facilitates the specification and modeling of robotic systems in a natural, incremental and systematic way. The model supports both the top-down and bottom-up design methodologies, as well as the computation of forward kinematics of the robots. With the analysis based on the communications among different roles, one can have further information about the cooperative behaviour and activities among multiple robots. The prototype system has been implemented in Lisp