Lara Lüking
Modular Software Environment for Easy Integration of New Functionalities into a Mobile Robotic Platform
Abstract
Autonomous small robotic platforms are deployed more and more frequently in research
and education. This work presents a software environment for the second version of
the Educational Modular Autonomous Robot Osnabrück. A library (Python module)
is developed with a class for each of the eight hardware interfaces. With the library,
individual LEDs can be driven with RGB colors. Furthermore, an ePaper display can be
used to print information or draw graphics. The class of the inertial measurement unit
provides acceleration and magnetic sensor values for orientation. Object detection is
provided by the camera class. For motor control, a microcontroller is programmed.
The Python class of the motors can be used to communicate with the microcontroller
and control the motors. Obstacle avoidance is provided by the distance sensor class.
Color sensors attached to the bottom of the robot can be used for line detection.
Lastly, the battery charger class provides the status values of the battery cells. The
library is supposed to enable easy integration of the interfaces into the robot. With
the combination of the provided functionalities of the different interfaces, various
applications can be implemented. For example, a road system can be emulated so that
the cameras are used for traffic sign detection, the color sensors for street detection,
and the motors to drive through the road system.