<title>Networked robotics</title>

Abstract

In this paper we present the concept of networked robotics. The networked robotics concept develops the viewpoint that robotics systems are collections of resources that are resident at identified locations on a network and, by means of an appropriate configuration process, can be connected together into a system that can perform some desired robotic task. Under this scheme a physical robot platform, a mobile robot for example, is modeled as a set of resources and a set of such platforms contributes their resources to a resource pool. Configuration patterns define the way in which these resources are configured to create a distributed architecture, which may span more than one physical robot platform. The emphasis on distributed, configurable resources makes the concept of networked robotics particularly relevant to the areas of modular and cooperative robotics. In this paper we identify the scope of networked robotics and the key research issues it raises, including the definition of resources, their configuration into control architectures and the relation of these configuration patterns to task models. We consider the relevance of networked robotics to other areas of robotics, in particular modular and cooperative robotics, and we explore technologies and tools that might support the networked robotics concept in practice.