Interactive Robot Environment

1
Interactive Robot Environment

• THE PROBLEM
• Currently difficult to debug ERC/CISST C robot
  applications
• Interaction is via MFC dialogs only
• Configuration/action is via many nested menus
• No explicit technology to integrate the various
  systems
• Prototyping demands unnecessary programming
  skills from non-software engineers

MFC Windows Application (Edit boxes, Dialog
boxes, buttons, etc)
No scripting! No Command Line Interaction! Incompr
ehensible Configuration Files!
Figure 2. ERC/CISST Robot Application with the IRE

• THE SOLUTION
• Python is powerful, object-orientated, strongly
  typed, Internet-aware scripting language and well
  suited to systems integration
• Wrap CISST C libraries using SWIG, allowing
  them to be used from within Python
• SWIG wrapping has been modified to afford dynamic
  void pointer casting to Python
• Create a Python-based programming environment to
  permit easy prototyping and debugging of the
  multi-modal ERC technologies, which
• Creates a virtual workspace for interacting with
  integrated systems and persisting data and state
• Creates a command shell feature to allow
  debugging/development from within executing C
  applications

C Robot Control Library
C Vector/Matrix Libraries
C Numerical Library
Figure 1. Typical ERC/CISST Robot Application

• THE IMPACT
• Permit and promote rapid prototyping
• Aid users in debugging
• Provide convenient glue language for
  integration with future systems
• Integrate seamlessly with the re-designed CISST
  software architecture
• Reduce complexity, increase reliability, and
  provide extensibility to large, complex software
  systems

SWIG
User IRE
User Library

• THE FUTURE
• Develop entire applications in Python
• Port data-file configuration to IRE/XML
  executables
• Integration experiments with open-source,
  open-architecture robot libraries (e.g. Pyro)

• PEOPLE INVOLVED
• Undergraduate Student Chris Abidin
• Graduate Student Andy LaMora
• Engineering Faculty Peter Kazanzides
• Engineering Staff Anton Deguet

Figure 3. A View of the Python-based Programming
Environment
REFERENCES AML/X A Programming Language for
Design and Manufacturing Nackman, LR, Lavin, M,
Taylor, RH, Dietrich, Jr., WC, and Grossman, DD
(1986) Python Robotics An Environment for
Exploring Robotics Beyond LEGOs Blank, D,
Meeden, L, and Kumar, Deepak (2002)

• SUPPORTED BY
• Core NSF CISST/ERC

Engineering Research Center for Computer
Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology