Engineering reactive vehicles: from the bottom up

This paper explores the process of engineering reactive autonomous robots, and highlights the problems inherent in current design methodologies. It illustrates this by referring to the construction and operation of two autonomous robots. The process of engineering involves two distinct phases, the first a design phase, the second a test and development cycle. This two stage methodology is necessary because it is impossible to completely specify any item before it is constructed. These two stages can be found in all branches of engineering, although different fields place a differing amount of emphasis on each phase. For example in VLSI engineering design tools are used to ensure that only a very small number of iterations are required to reach a final product, this is due to the strictly hierarchical design process, and the wholesale reuse of tried and tested sub components. At the other extreme of the engineering spectrum software engineering relies on an extended iteration process that often goes beyond the product delivery date.