ROS-NetSim: A Framework for the Integration of Robotic and Network Simulators

Multi-agent systems play an important role in modern robotics. Due to the nature of these systems, coordination among agents via communication is frequently necessary. Indeed, Perception-Action-Communication (PAC) loops, or Perception-Action loops closed over a communication channel, are a critical...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE robotics and automation letters Vol. 6; no. 2; pp. 1120 - 1127
Main Authors: Calvo-Fullana, Miguel, Mox, Daniel, Pyattaev, Alexander, Fink, Jonathan, Kumar, Vijay, Ribeiro, Alejandro
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Piscataway IEEE 01.04.2021
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subjects:
Communication
Communication channels
Critical components
methods and tools for robot system design
Multi-robot systems
Multiagent systems
Multiple robots
networked robots
Perception
Physics
Picture archiving and communication systems
Robot kinematics
Robot sensing systems
Robotics
Simulation
Simulators
software architecture for robotic and automation
Synchronization
Wireless sensor networks
ISSN:2377-3766, 2377-3766
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Multi-agent systems play an important role in modern robotics. Due to the nature of these systems, coordination among agents via communication is frequently necessary. Indeed, Perception-Action-Communication (PAC) loops, or Perception-Action loops closed over a communication channel, are a critical component of multi-robot systems. However, we lack appropriate tools for simulating PAC loops. To that end, in this letter, we introduce ROS-NetSim , a ROS package that acts as an interface between robotic and network simulators. With ROS-NetSim, we can attain high-fidelity representations of both robotic and network interactions by accurately simulating the PAC loop. Our proposed approach is lightweight, modular and adaptive. Furthermore, it can be used with many available network and physics simulators by making use of our proposed interface. In summary, ROS-NetSim is (i) Transparent to the ROS target application, (ii) Agnostic to the specific network and physics simulator being used, and (iii) Tunable in fidelity and complexity. As part of our contribution, we have made available an open-source implementation of ROS-NetSim to the community.
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ISSN:2377-3766
2377-3766
DOI:10.1109/LRA.2021.3056347