Open-hardware e-puck Linux extension board for experimental swarm robotics research

Liu, Wenguo; Winfield, Alan F.T.

Abstract

In this paper we describe the implementation of a Linux extension board for the e-puck educational mobile robot, designed to enhance the computation, memory and networking performance of the robot at very low cost. The extension board is based on a 32-bit ARM9 microprocessor and provides wireless network support. The ARM9 extension board runs in parallel with the dsPIC microprocessor on the e-puck motherboard with communication between the two via an SPI bus. The extension board is designed to handle computationally intensive image processing, wireless communication and high-level intelligent robot control algorithms, while the dsPIC handles low-level sensor interfacing, data processing and motor control. The extension board runs an embedded Linux operating system, along with a Debian-based port of the root file system stored in a Micro SD card. The extended e-puck robot platform requires minimal effort to integrate the well-known open-source robot control framework Player and, when placed within a TCP/IP networked infrastructure, provides a powerful and flexible platform for experimental swarm robotics research. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Citation

Liu, W., & Winfield, A. F. (2011). Open-hardware e-puck Linux extension board for experimental swarm robotics research. Microprocessors and Microsystems, 35(1), 60-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micpro.2010.08.002

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 8, 2019
• Journal: Microprocessors and Microsystems
• Print ISSN: 0141-9331
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 60-67
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micpro.2010.08.002
• Keywords: swarm robotics, mobile robotics, embedded Linux
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/965394
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.micpro.2010.08.002