Control laws, tasks and procedures with ORCCAD: application to the control of an underwater arm

Abstract

Software reliability is a major issue in the design of control architecture for robots operating in hostile or poorly known environments. The ORCCAD control architecture gathers control laws in continuous time at low levels and logical aspects in discrete time at higher levels. While some performances can he checked using simulations, crucial properties such as dead-lock avoidance, safety and liveness can be formally verified at both levels, using in particular some advantages of synchronous programming and associated tools. In the framework of the Union project, the underlying programming style using mission composition from basic actions and formal verification is illustrated by the design of an underwater structure inspection mission simulation using a remotely operated vehicle fitted with a manipulator. Since the physical system is not yet ready, only realistic simulation results are provided, but it is expected that they will be rather easy to transfer to the real plant.