ABSTRACT
Sensing, planning, controlling, and reasoning, are human-like capabilities that can be artificially replicated in an autonomous robot. Such a robot implements data structures and algorithms devised on a large spectrum of theories, from probability theory, mechanics, and control theory to ethology, economy, and cognitive sciences. Software plays a key role in the development of robotic systems, as it is the medium to embody intelligence in the machine. During the last years, however, software development is increasingly becoming the bottleneck of robotic systems engineering due to three factors: (a) the software development is mostly based on community efforts and it is not coordinated by key stakeholders; (b) robotic technologies are characterized by a high variability that makes reuse of software a challenging practice; and (c) robotics developers are usually not specifically trained in software engineering. In this paper, we illustrate our experiences from EU, academic, and industrial projects in identifying, modeling, and managing variability in the domain of service robots. We hope to raise awareness for the specific variability challenges in robotics software engineering and to inspire other researchers to advance this field.
- S. Abd Halim, N. A. J. Dayang, I. Noraini, and D. Safaai. 2012. An Approach for Representing Domain Requirements and Domain Architecture in Software Product Line. In Software Product Line - Advanced Topic.Google Scholar
- R. Bashroush, I. Spence, P. Kilpatrick, J. Brown, and C. Gillan. 2008. A multiple views model for variability management in software product lines. (2008).Google Scholar
- T. Berger, R. Rublack, D. Nair, J. Atlee, M. Becker, K. Czarnecki, and A. Wąsowski. 2013. A Survey of Variability Modeling in Industrial Practice. In VaMoS. Google ScholarDigital Library
- T. Berger, S. She, R. Lotufo, A. Wasowski, and K. Czarnecki. 2013. A Study of Variability Models and Languages in the Systems Software Domain. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering 39, 12 (2013), 1611--1640. Google ScholarDigital Library
- R. Bischoff, T. Guhl, E. Prassler, W. Nowak, G. Kraetzschmar, H. Bruyninckx, P. Soetens, M. Haegele, A. Pott, P. Breedveld, J. Broenink, D. Brugali, and N. Tomatis. 2010. BRICS -- Best practice in robotics. In ROBOTIK.Google Scholar
- D. Brugali and P. Scandurra. 2009. Component-based robotic engineering (part i){tutorial}. Robotics & Automation Magazine, IEEE 16, 4 (2009), 84--96.Google Scholar
- Y. Dubinsky, J. Rubin, T. Berger, S. Duszynski, M. Becker, and K. Czarnecki. 2013. An Exploratory Study of Cloning in Industrial Software Product Lines. In CSMR. Google ScholarDigital Library
- S. Fürst, J. Mössinger, S. Bunzel, T. Weber, F. Kirschke-Biller, P. Heitkämper, G. Kinkelin, K. Nishikawa, and K. Lange. 2009. AUTOSAR--A Worldwide Standard is on the Road. In 14th International VDI Congress Electronic Systems for Vehicles.Google Scholar
- L. Gherardi. 2013. Variability modeling and resolution in component-based robotics systems. (2013).Google Scholar
- L. Gherardi and D. Brugali. 2011. An eclipse-based Feature Models toolchain. In 6th Italian Workshop on Eclipse Technologies (EclipseIT 2011).Google Scholar
- L. Gherardi and D. Brugali. 2014. Modeling and Reusing Robotic Software Architectures: the HyperFlex toolchain. In ICRA. Hong Kong, China.Google Scholar
- L. Gherardi, D. Hunziker, and G. Mohanarajah. 2014. Asoftware product line approach for configuring cloud robotics applications. In CLOUD. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Y. Han, J. Jeong, and J. Kim. 2012. Quadtree based path planning for Unmanned Ground Vehicle in unknown environments. In ICCAS. IEEE, 992--997.Google Scholar
- IFR. 2016. World Robotic Survey. https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/world-robotics-survey-service-robots-are-conquering-the-world-.Google Scholar
- IFR. 2018. Service robots. https://ifr.org/service-robots/.Google Scholar
- B. Jørgensen and W. Joosen. 2003. Coping with variability in product-line architectures using component technology. In Technology of Object-Oriented Languages, Systems and Architectures.Google Scholar
- E.Jung, C. Kapoor, and D. Batory. 2005. Automatic code generation for actuator interfacing from a declarative specification. In IROS.Google Scholar
- K. Kang, M. Kim, J. Lee, and B. Kim. 2005. Feature-oriented re-engineering of legacy systems into product line assets: a case study. In SPLC. Google ScholarDigital Library
- S.M. LaValle. 2006. Planning algorithms. Cambridge university press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- S. Liaskos, L. Jiang, A. Lapouchnian, Y. Wang, Y. Yu, J. do Prado Leite, and J. Mylopoulos. 2007. Exploring the Dimensions of Variability: a Requirements Engineering Perspective. VaMoS 7 (2007), 17--26.Google Scholar
- A. Lotz, J. Inglés-Romero, C. Vicente-Chicote, and C. Schlegel. 2013. Managing Run-Time Variability in Robotics Software by Modeling Functional and Nonfunctional Behavior. In EMMSAD.Google Scholar
- A. Lotz, J. F. Inglés-Romero, D. Stampfer, M. Lutz, C. Vicente-Chicote, and C. Schlegel. 2014. Towards a Stepwise Variability Management Process for Complex Systems: A Robotics Perspective. Int. J. Inf. Syst. Model. Des. (2014), 55--74. Google ScholarDigital Library
- C. Menghi, C. Tsigkanos, T. Berger, and P. Pelliccione. 2019. PsALM: Specification of Dependable Robotic Missions. In ICSE.Google Scholar
- C. Menghi, C. Tsigkanos, T. Berger, P. Pelliccione, and C. Ghezzi. 2018. Property Specification Patterns for Robotic Missions. In ICSE. Google ScholarDigital Library
- E. Nakagawa, P. Antonino, and M. Becker. 2011. Reference Architecture and Product Line Architecture: A Subtle but Critical Difference. In ECSA. Google ScholarDigital Library
- A. Nordmann, N. Hochgeschwender, and S. Wrede. 2014. A Survey on Domain-Specific Languages in Robotics. In SIMPAR. Springer. Google ScholarDigital Library
- M. Riebisch, K. Böllert, D. Streitferdt, and I. Philippow. 2002. Extending feature diagrams with UML multiplicities. In IDPT. Citeseer.Google Scholar
- D. Di Ruscio, I. Malavolta, P. Pelliccione, and M. Tivoli. 2016. Automatic Generation of Detailed Flight Plans from High-level Mission Descriptions. In MODELS. Google ScholarDigital Library
- P. Schillinger, M. Bürger, and D. V. Dimarogonas. 2018. Simultaneous Task Allocation and Planning for Temporal Logic Goals in Heterogeneous Multi-Robot Systems. The International Journal of Robotics Research 37, 7 (2018), 818--838. Google ScholarDigital Library
- A. Steck, A. Lotz, and C. Schlegel. 2011. Model-driven Engineering and Run-time Model-usage in Service Robotics. In GPCE. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Z. Tewfik, F. Jean-Loup, S. Serge, Z. Mikal, D. Saadia, M. Francois, M. Nicolas, N. Cyril, K. Selma, and P. Bruno. 2016. A Toolset to Address Variability in Mobile Robotics. Journal of Software Engineeringin Robotics (2016).Google Scholar
- C. Tischer, B. Boss, A. Müller, A. Thums, R. Acharya, and K. Schmid. 2012. Developing Long-Term Stable Product Line Architectures. In SPLC. Google ScholarDigital Library
Recommendations
Robots and their variability: a societal challenge and a potential solution
PLEASE '15: Proceedings of the Fifth International Workshop on Product LinE Approaches in Software EngineeringA robot is essentially a real-time, distributed embedded system operating in a physical environment. Often, control and communication paths within the system are tightly coupled to the actual hardware configuration of the robot. Furthermore, the domain ...
Self-modeling in humanoid soccer robots
In this paper we discuss the applicability, potential benefits, open problems and expected contributions that an emerging set of self-modeling techniques might bring on the development of humanoid soccer robots. The idea is that robots might ...
Mobile teleoperation interfaces with adjustable autonomy for personal service robots
HRI '14: Proceedings of the 2014 ACM/IEEE international conference on Human-robot interactionPersonal service robots require a comprehensive set of perception, control, and planning skills to perform everyday tasks autonomously. While achieving full autonomy is an ongoing research topic, first real-world applications of personal robots may come ...
Comments