Most valuable player: a robot device server for distributed control

Abstract

Successful distributed sensing and control require data to flow effectively between sensors, processors and actuators on single robots, in groups and across the Internet. We propose a mechanism for achieving this flow that we have found to be powerful and easy to use; we call it Player. Player combines an efficient message protocol with a simple device model. It is implemented as a multithreaded TCP socket server that provides transparent network access to a collection of sensors and actuators, often comprising a robot. The socket abstraction enables platform- and language-independent control of these devices, allowing the system designer to use the best tool for the task at hand Player is freely available from http://robotics.usc.edu/player.