The key problems in producing software to control intelligent robots are identified, the principal one being the difficulty of producing a detailed requirements specification. A series of process steps is defined and described in relation to the development of an intelligent robot excavator. The importance of a rational decomposition of the system into modules is stressed, and one particular component of the robot excavator is discussed in some detail-the activities manager. It is shown how techniques such as a `production system' and a `blackboard' were implemented in Ada to produce a flexible and easily maintainable system. Two other components are described-the low level controller and the safety manager. A brief description of the hardware platforms used is included.
"©1996 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE." "This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder."
