Reference Design

Robotics

Complete robotics reference design with advanced motion control, sensor integration, and real-time processing capabilities for industrial applications.

Overall Project Overview

What We Built

Advanced robotics control system with motion planning, sensor fusion, and real-time processing for industrial and collaborative robot applications.

• 6-DOF robotic arm control with ±0.01° position accuracy
• Multi-sensor fusion for environment perception
• Real-time motion planning and trajectory optimization
• ROS-compatible architecture with industrial protocols
• Safety-certified for collaborative robot operations

Requirements & Design Philosophy

Precision: High-accuracy positioning with advanced calibration and compensation algorithms

Safety: ISO 10218-1 compliant with force sensing and speed monitoring for human-robot collaboration

Real-Time: Deterministic processing with 1kHz control loops and guaranteed latency

Reliability: Industrial-grade components with redundant systems and fail-safe operation

Flexibility: Modular design supporting various robot configurations and end-effectors

System Architecture

Distributed robotics architecture with separation of motion control, perception, and decision-making systems:

• Motion Controller: Real-time servo control with EtherCAT master functionality
• Perception System: AI-powered vision processing with 3D sensing capabilities
• Planning Engine: Path planning and trajectory optimization algorithms
• Safety Controller: Independent safety monitoring with SIL3 certification
• Communication Hub: Industrial Ethernet and fieldbus connectivity
• Power Management: Regenerative power systems with energy optimization

Hardware

Platform Choice

Arches Platform (NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX) - Selected for AI/ML processing power and real-time robotics control.

Why chosen: Superior AI inference for vision processing, sufficient CPU cores for real-time control, extensive robotics ecosystem support

Hardware parameters: 384-core Volta GPU, 6-core Carmel CPU, 8GB LPDDR4x memory

Design Considerations

Form Factor: Compact controller (150mm x 120mm) with integrated cooling and multiple I/O interfaces

Power Requirements: 10-25W typical operation with industrial voltage range (18-36V DC)

Environmental Constraints: 0°C to +50°C operation, vibration resistance per IEC 60068-2-6, IP54 protection

Requirements & Design Philosophy: Fanless cooling design for industrial environments, reinforced connectors for reliable operation

OS/Firmware

OS Chosen & Configuration

Ubuntu Server with real-time kernel - Selected for ROS compatibility and deterministic real-time performance.

Why chosen: Native ROS support with extensive robotics middleware ecosystem, real-time kernel for control applications

Kernel configuration: PREEMPT_RT patches for low-latency scheduling, CPU isolation for critical threads

OS configuration: Minimal installation with only essential services, optimized for robotics workloads

Drivers & Requirements

Drivers developed: EtherCAT master stack, camera drivers for industrial vision, encoder interfaces, safety I/O drivers

Requirements & Design Philosophy: Synchronized sensor sampling for multi-modal fusion, low-latency communication protocols, watchdog protection for continuous operation

Middleware

Middleware Chosen

ROS 2 (Robot Operating System) - Industry-standard middleware for robotics with real-time capabilities and extensive ecosystem.

Why chosen: De facto standard in robotics with proven reliability and extensive community support

Requirements & Design Philosophy: Component-based architecture for modularity, DDS communication for real-time data exchange

Interfaces

Sensor Interfaces: Standardized ROS message types for cameras, LiDAR, IMUs, and force sensors

Control Interfaces: ROS control framework for joint controllers and trajectory execution

Communication Interfaces: ROS bridge for industrial protocols, REST APIs for external systems

Application

Applications Developed

Advanced Robotics Controller - Complete ROS-based robot control system with perception, planning, and execution capabilities.

• Multi-modal sensor fusion for environment understanding

• Real-time motion planning with obstacle avoidance

• Force control for collaborative operations

• Advanced calibration and kinematic modeling

Interfaces & Requirements

Interfaces: ROS action servers for trajectory execution, service APIs for configuration, topic-based data streaming

Requirements & Design Philosophy: Fault-tolerant operation with automatic error recovery, comprehensive logging for debugging, modular design for easy customization

Support Apps

Desktop

Robot programming and simulation software for offline programming, calibration tools for kinematic accuracy, and monitoring dashboards with real-time visualization.

Cloud

Robot fleet management platform for performance monitoring, remote diagnostics, and centralized programming and updates.

Mobile

Field service apps for robot diagnostics, commissioning tools for setup and calibration, and monitoring apps for maintenance teams.

Other Support

Cloud Interface & Diagnostics

Advanced cloud connectivity for robot monitoring, diagnostics, and performance optimization.

• Secure industrial IoT connectivity with MQTT and ROS bridge

• Real-time robot telemetry for performance monitoring

• Automated diagnostics with vibration analysis and predictive maintenance

• Historical data analytics for optimization and continuous improvement

Profiling & Requirements

Performance Profiling: Motion accuracy analysis, cycle time optimization, and computational load monitoring tools

Requirements & Design Philosophy: Comprehensive testing with automated validation, detailed logging for failure analysis, continuous monitoring for long-term reliability

Final Overview

What Will Be Delivered

Complete production-ready robotics control system with hardware, software, documentation, and support tools.

• Assembled and tested robotics controller hardware
• Complete ROS-based software stack and applications
• Comprehensive safety certification documentation
• Programming and simulation tools
• Integration guides and API documentation
• Technical support and training services

Requirements & Design Philosophy

Production Ready: All components meet industrial robotics standards and safety certifications

Customizable: Flexible architecture supports different robot configurations and applications

Reliable: Multiple safety layers ensure safe human-robot collaboration

Scalable: Architecture supports multi-robot systems and complex applications