Configuration and performance evaluation of a real-time robot control system: the skeleton approach

The skeleton approach as applied to the NASREM multiprocessor robot control architecture is described. The skeleton approach creates the shell of a functioning real-time control system utilizing the actual hardware and operating system code without using actual application code. This is done by replacing the processing part of the application code with time delays. Parameterization of time delays, communication paths, message buffer lengths, and process allocation allows rapid prototyping of alternative system architectures. Actual system performance is measured to provide realistic data on computation and communication loads. The skeleton reporting facility provides quantitative assessments of system activity. To illustrate the use of this technique, the servo level of the NASREM hierarchy is modeled using a 5.0 ms cycle time on a multiprocessor system and compared with the actual system