Integrating a PDDL-Based Planner and a PLEXIL-Executor into the Ptinto Robot

Ptinto is a prototype of a hexapod robot for exploration tasks in rocky and cumbersome areas. The main objective of this prototype is to design and test a complex kinematic control system, including both new hardware and software technologies. In this paper we describe the autonomous architecture that we have developed for the control of the system. We use a deliberator that must be able to make a safe trajectory between two or more points avoiding obstacles. When a trajectory has been created, the executive takes this plan to control Ptinto via the hardware abstraction layer. This is a classical 3T architecture implementation with two general purpose systems: a PDDL planner as the deliberator, and a PLEXIL executor.

[1]  Ari K. Jónsson,et al.  Universal Executive and PLEXIL: Engine and Language for Robust Spacecraft Control and Operations , 2006 .

[2]  Simon Lacroix,et al.  Decisional autonomy of planetary rovers , 2007, J. Field Robotics.

[3]  J.L. Bresina,et al.  Mission operations planning: beyond MAPGEN , 2006, 2nd IEEE International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology (SMC-IT'06).

[5]  María D. R-Moreno,et al.  An Autonomous System for the Locomotion of a Hexapod Exploration Robot , 2009, 2009 Third IEEE International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology.

[6]  Derek Long,et al.  Plan Constraints and Preferences in PDDL3 , 2006 .

[7]  Maria Fox,et al.  PDDL2.1: An Extension to PDDL for Expressing Temporal Planning Domains , 2003, J. Artif. Intell. Res..

[8]  E. Gat On Three-Layer Architectures , 1997 .

[9]  David E. Smith,et al.  ATHLETE's Feet: Mu1ti-Resolution Planning for a Hexapod Robot , 2008, ICAPS 2008.

[10]  Frederic Py,et al.  A deliberative architecture for AUV control , 2008, 2008 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[11]  Ari K. Jónsson,et al.  Activity Planning for the Mars Exploration Rovers , 2005, ICAPS.

[12]  Nicola Muscettola,et al.  Model-Unified Planning and Execution for Distributed Autonomous System Control , 2006, AAAI Fall Symposium: Spacecraft Autonomy.

[13]  Chih-Wei Hsu The SGPlan Planning System in IPC-6 , 2008 .

[14]  Félix Ingrand,et al.  Decisional autonomy of planetary rovers: Research Articles , 2007 .