GenoM3: Building middleware-independent robotic components

Abstract

The topic of reusable software in robotics is now largely addressed. Components based architectures, where components are independent units that can be reused accross applications, have become more popular. As a consequence, a long list of middlewares and integration tools is available in the community, often in the form of open-source projects. However, these projects are generally self contained with little reuse between them. This paper presents a software engineering approach that intends to grant middleware independance to robotic software components so that a clear separation of concerns is achieved between highly reusable algorithmic parts and integration frameworks. Such a decoupling let middle-wares be used interchangeably, while fully benefitting from their specific, individual features. This work has been integrated into a new version of the open-source GenоM component generator tool: GenоM3