DIOS A Distributed Intelligent Operating Schema

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DIOS A Distributed Intelligent Operating Schema

• Dr. Reuven Granot and Chad Trytten
• Spark Robotics Inc.

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Machines for Risky Intervention

• Autonomous and human supervised autonomous robots
  for risky intervention require intelligent
  capabilities executed by machines in a timely
  fashion.
• Machine intelligence may be achieved by the
  interaction of control agents acting in a dynamic
  environment.
• Lets consider an example Neutralization of an
  Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

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Example Neutralization of a CBRN-E device.

• The scenario of a terror attack using an IED is
  today a major concern in Europe and in the rest
  of the world.
• In the near future it may contain Chemical,
  Biological, Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN-E )
  agents
• It is also reasonable to be used as a tool for
  threat and as such may be found before its
  activation.

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The Problem

• Unknown structure and design
• As an improvised device presents the human
  operator team with unknown and unexpected
  situations.
• Needs more accurate technical treatment than
  neutralization of usual explosive devices in
  order to reduce to zero the possibilities of
  human error.
• A lot of general information is available
• large variety of information data bases for
  situation analysis
• integration of a large variety of tools for
  sensing or acting

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The Problem

• The neutralizing device should be assembled and
  integrated from several systems.
• Connection to device information databases over
  the Internet.
• Sensors and actuators required to perform the
  task should be handy. However,
• before the incident occurs, only some of the
  sensors to be used for analysis, can be
  allocated.
• while actuators and sensors to be used during the
  neutralization phase can be allocated only after
  the analysis phase is completed.
• The operating system has to be built on the spot
  and under the constraints of a crisis situation,
  in a timely fashion and with extremely high
  quality assurance.
• This is of course a very demanding task.

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The neutralization robot

• Is developed beforehand, but its functionality
  has to be flexible enough to be adapted to very
  different situations.
• From some aspects it should be possible to
  reintegrate its components according to the
  specific scenario.

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The Intelligent Command, Communication and
Control System

• The responsibility to control and monitor the
  Global Goal in a very professional and reliable
  manner.
• Will perform under a Human Autonomous Supervisory
  Control regime.
• Will include numerous agents and modules
• reliably communicate and exchange information.
• Enforce
• a reliable fault tolerant system
• trustable communication
• messaging server
• process manager to ensure system safety
• System Builder tool to integrate the sub-systems

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Introducing DISTRIBUTED INTELLIGENT OPERATING
SCHEMA DIOSTM

• The machine has to be capable to integrate into a
  working system several different and frequently
  new sensors or actuators
• as the existing ones may be replaced by a new
  product or an updated version of the same
  product.
• Assembling a system to be able to deal with
  complex situations requires integration of very
  different subsystems.
• An Operating Schema to serve as a tool to make
  that task doable under the stressed situation of
  a crisis is not a luxury, but a necessity.

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DIOSTM VISION STATEMENT
To be the widely accepted tool for development of
distributed systems, using application agents for
information exchange in robotic control systems
and intelligent devices.
To enable the creation of a new generation
of better connected, more intelligent, cost
effective, reliable and of on the spot assembled
robotic vehicles.
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• How DIOSTM works
• Hide the details of the specification from the
  particular application.
• Does not tie an application to a specific type
  of hardware.
• Allow Agents to be created in multiple
  programming languages
• C for microcontrollers used in Hardware
  Interface Modules (HIM),
• C, Python, and Java (more in the future)
• Automatically generates code to standardize
  communication and prevent dependency issues
  between Agents
• ? SPEED UP DEVELOPMENT

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DISTRIBUTED INTELLIGENT OPERATING SCHEMA
SPECIFICATION

• Specifies what information can be broadcast/
  listened to.
• Does not distinguish between real world
  components (sensors, actuators) and virtual
  components in software (behaviors, decisions).
• Real-time requirement for guaranteed message
  delivery

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DISTRIBUTED INTELLIGENT OPERATING SCHEMA
FRAMEWORK

• Software medium through which all Agents
  communicate with each other.
• Invisible to the application developer and end
  user.
• Fully distributed ability to create
  applications with no single point of failure.
• Commercial robotics framework developed for the
  QNX Real-Time OS.

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DISTRIBUTED INTELLIGENT OPERATING SCHEMA
AGENTS

• Units of FUNCTIONALITY
• Perform on behalf of a supervisory unit (agent or
  human operator)
• Are
• Autonomous
• Situated (in the environment)
• Reactive
• Pro-active (make decisions to achieve goals)

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The System Builder

• The purpose is to simplify and automate the task
  of
• defining,
• creating,
• maintaining, and
• arranging
• Agents for use in a DIOS-enabled system.
• Acts as a repository for all DIOS-enabled
  software and the management thereof.
• Projects are comprised of many Agents using
  shared Models.

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DIOS System Builder

• Allows the developer to use whatever
  specification it choose.

Works on
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• The System Builder requires that the user specify
  the information that an Agent requires in order
  to function and complete its task.
• By defining an Agent with the above properties,
  the System Builder then auto-generates all of the
  code required for communication along with the
  programming stub for the Agent.

Agent definition screen of the SystemBuilder
running under OSX 10.4 Tiger.
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DIOS System Builder

• Allow Agents to be created in multiple
  programming languages

C
C
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The hierarchal organization of software objects
composed of data-type fields are defined in the
"Information Model".This is necessary to let
System Builder connect parts according to their
hierarchy.
The Information Model definition screen of the
SystemBuilder running under Windows 6.0 Vista.
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Using the SystemBuilder

• Steps
• 1. define agents
• 2. define information models
• 3. associate information models with Agents
• 4. Generate code (in C) for the keyboard driver
• 5. Use the keyboard driver to control a simulated
  robot
• 6. Show the auto generated Java keyboard driver
  code
• 7. Show the simulated robot controlled by the
  java driver

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Contact Information

• Spark Robotics Technology Inc.
• 1160 Seymour Street
• Vancouver, BC
• Canada V6B 3N3 
• USA 1-619-955-6675
• Canada 1-604-495-1861
• Israel 972-4-824-8701
• Fax [phone]
• Email info_at_sparkrobotics.com
• www.sparkrobotics.com