From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00, REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Thread: 103376,e9aa51c7f1665df8 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit Path: g2news2.google.com!news4.google.com!news1.google.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed.icl.net!newsfeed.fjserv.net!newsfeed.arcor.de!newsspool2.arcor-online.net!news.arcor.de.POSTED!not-for-mail From: "Dmitry A. Kazakov" Subject: Re: [ANN] Player-Ada 2.0.3.0 released Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada User-Agent: 40tude_Dialog/2.0.15.1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Reply-To: mailbox@dmitry-kazakov.de Organization: cbb software GmbH References: <4qcaq6Fmg7u7U1@individual.net> <1ruckzczfgwn7$.1o0lhp0ouwqgj.dlg@40tude.net> <4qdv1jFmnkr8U1@individual.net> <1kqwejhzkw59d$.1990rsvzqw0p4.dlg@40tude.net> <4qe3otFmoh6kU1@individual.net> <1olvkbr644v6x$.1eg74pfjjbpbv$.dlg@40tude.net> <4qefshFmqjlrU1@individual.net> Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2006 16:50:03 +0200 Message-ID: <13cwqawj5cl48$.pyzh3o7n3tnz.dlg@40tude.net> NNTP-Posting-Date: 27 Oct 2006 16:50:03 CEST NNTP-Posting-Host: 80bafe2c.newsspool3.arcor-online.net X-Trace: DXC=PCl<5[`0j2ef1oJaJ0@dmgMcF=Q^Z^V3h4Fo<]lROoRagUcjd<3m<;b4P\WlcekJhj[6LHn;2LCVn7enW;^6ZC`dF0oL On Fri, 27 Oct 2006 15:29:54 +0200, Alex R. Mosteo wrote: > Dmitry A. Kazakov wrote: > >> On Fri, 27 Oct 2006 12:03:10 +0200, Alex R. Mosteo wrote: >> >>> Dmitry A. Kazakov wrote: >>> >>> (snip) >>> >>>> If I correctly understood it is not embedded, the thingy is controlled >>>> by a PC. >>> >>> Well, no and yes. In our case, the Pioneer robots have an embedded board >>> with PC/104 socket that allows to have a x86 platform running linux. >> >> Is it role of being a sort of extension board, arithmetic booster, DSP >> board etc as in PCs of early 90s? > > I think it's a standard socket for industrial PCs that allows stacking of > cards. A card can mount the CPU, another one the wireless, another some USB > ports and so on... > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC/104 Yes it is, but I actually meant the system architecture: Sensors / Actuators ^ | DAC/ADC, I/Os etc y Controller [closed, runs nobody knows what] ^ | RS232 V Extension board [open, runs Linux with an [Ada] application on] Architectures like this were widely used in industrial automation 10 years ago. History tends to repeat itself... (:-)) >>> Player >>> connects to the hardware via RS232. But I suppose you refer to more >>> exotic platforms? >> >> Nothing specific. I am just wondering if there is an architecture that >> could natively support Ada, down to actuators, sensors and real-time >> control loops. > > Do you know MARTE OS? It could be useful for such an architecture and is > mostly Ada. > http://marte.unican.es/ Interesting, thank you for the link. > Our robots have a proprietary OS (ARCOS) in the other side of the RS232 for > real-time control of the robot. I don't know much about it. > >> [In industry actuators and sensors are connected via Ethernet (maybe >> modified) or a field bus. The latter slowly dies out. RS232 is, well, >> quite outdated.] > > I don't have much experience with robots out of these ones, but USB is still > second place to RS232: even if newer SICK models have USB, our models, GPS > receivers, the robot microcontroller, the pan-tilt camera units, our > lasers, all use RS232... may be they tricked us into buying obsolescent > hardware ;) Presently, it is no problem to bring a small embeddable 100MBaud Ethernet switch on the board and connect sensors/actuators directly to the robot's "LAN." The problem is that Ethernet/fieldbus-capable sensors/actuators are quite expensive. Ada were an excellent candidate for implementation of a middleware for "software wiring" of process variables in such a system. -- Regards, Dmitry A. Kazakov http://www.dmitry-kazakov.de