Introduction
A flexible mechatronic system requires an open architecture integration
environment that is mechatronic device and computer platform independent.
An interactive environment allows the users to step through programs and
acquire immediate feedback from the system and is most suitable for the
development of mechatronic systems used in a multitude of operations.
Ch, an embeddable C/C++ interpreter, was developed for mechatronic-independent
task-level programming. It is an open architecture integration language
environment for the integration of mechatronic systems in agile
manufacturing, interactive motion control, rapid prototyping, web-based
remote motion control, and as a learning tool for motion control.
An experimental mechatronic system with a robotic workcell and a
Delta Tau's programmable multi-axis controller board has been developed
to demonstrate the capabilities and the ease in integrating mechatronic
devices in Ch, which is freely available for downloading from
SoftIntegration
Previous research has been done with the integration of a robotic
workcell into the open architecture environment, Ch. This research
consisted of two robotic arms, a conveyer system, and the LynxOS
Real-Time operating system on a VMEbus based computer. The robotic
workcell was controlled through the PMAC-VME board. The research
is being continued to update the system to current industrial and
commerical available systems. RT Linux is being looked into to
replace the use of LynxOS, standard PCs will be used instead of a
VMEbus based computer and the new Turbo PMAC2-PCI board will be used
instead of the PMAC-VME board.
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