Actin (software)

Actin
Developer(s) Energid Technologies, Corp.
Initial release March 30, 2005 (2005-03-30)
Stable release
Actin 5.0.1
Written in C++
Operating system Currently Available: Microsoft Windows; OS X; Linux; RTLinux; VxWorks; RTOS-32; RTX64; — Planned: QNX
Available in English
Type Robotic Programming (Off-line programming with online joint-level streaming)
License Proprietary
Website www.energid.com/software

Actin is a software toolkit for designing, simulating, and controlling robots, created by the American firm Energid Technologies of Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1][2] In addition to their headquarters in the United States, the firm opened an office in India to sell Actin in Asia[2] (e.g. Japan).

Development

Actin began as simulation software and control software, during contract work by Energid for NASA's Johnson Space Center, funded by the Small Business Innovation Research legislation.[2] Actin was developed for NASA robots,[1] and the software was first demonstrated on a Mitsubishi PA-10 robot while under development for the Robonaut 1 project at NASA.[lower-alpha 1]

Prior to 2011, the firm also began selling Actin as a design and control software package for robotics applications, with an emphasis on user-friendly design-optimization.[2] The target markets were the military,[lower-alpha 3] agricultural, healthcare (see also medical robot), and industrial segments.[2]

Features

Actin is a robotics software toolkit (a type of software development kit), which provides features for designing robotic control systems, and for simulating those robots in software.[2]

Control system optimization

Actin can be used for control of most kinds of robots, and provides functions related to robot motion, collision avoidance, and overcoming joint limitations.[2] Actin supports an unlimited number of joints, degrees of freedom for those joints, and branches.[2]

Actin software supports the following communication protocols for connecting the human operator (or autonomous agent software control system) to physical robotic hardware: Modbus, EtherCAT, CANopen, Serial, Data Distribution Service, UDP, and TCP.

Simulation of robot designs

In addition to the robot-control features, Actin also provides a simulator for the robot which is being designed.[2] This capability allows roboticists to test their designs in a virtual environment via simulation, prior to actually building a physical robot which implements the design.[2]

Applications

In 2012, Actin was used to implement the robot control system of the Cyton Gamma series of robotic arms (manufactured by Robai which is a subsidiary of Energid), intended for the remote inspection,[lower-alpha 4] manufacturing, and healthcare markets.[1] The control system for the Gamma provides a PC-based GUI in 3D for the consumer to use when operating the robot arm.[1] The arm has seven joints (and thus seven degrees of freedom), which according to CNET gives the arm "more dexterity" than if it had fewer joints.[1] However, the use of that many joints (which the manufacturer calls 'kinematically redundant'[lower-alpha 5]—see robot kinematics and kinematic chain) increases the computational workload that the control system implemented in Actin must be able to handle.[1] To work, the Gamma must be connected to a PC[lower-alpha 6] via a USB cable, where the robot arm can be programmed via the GUI, and where the processor of the PC can perform some of the complex computations that implement the control system.[1]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Energid's Actin Finding Wide Use". Robotics Business Review. February 15, 2010. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  2. ↑ "Robotics: Energid Technologies and Mobile Robots Inc. Preview Advance in Mobile Manipulation Robots". Robotics Business Review. December 5, 2013. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  3. ↑ Including the DARPA 'Phoenix' program for instance.[lower-alpha 2]
  4. ↑ "Robai whitepaper: Cyton for Remote Inspection". Robai. 2015. Retrieved 2017-01-14. ...how to configure a Cyton robot [arm] for remote inspection applications. That is, applications that require real-time positioning of a camera by a human operator not collocated with what is being inspected. The operator [of the robot-mounted camera] might be in the next room or in a different country (connected through the Internet)... Through custom camera end-effectors [robot 'hands'] available through Robai [at additional cost] and the included network interface [robot arm operation-interface]... One application... is troubleshooting and testing electronic components ... at a remote manufacturing facility ... A growing area for remote inspection is the field of remote healthcare (or Telehealth) ... remote medical diagnostics... robotic system allows doctors and other medical personnel to move the [remote-controlled] camera to the patient ... Undercar Inspection ... military organizations use vehicle checkpoints ... check for hidden explosives within the chassis [inside the undercarriage of the vehicle] ... remotely controlled robotic camera that can look around structures in a serpentine fashion...
  5. ↑ A robotic system with more degrees of freedom in motion (e.g. joints) than degrees of constraint in its task is kinematically redundant.
  6. ↑ The supported operating systems are Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Apple OS X.[1]
  7. ↑ "Energid Technologies: Actin". SolidWorks Corporation. Retrieved 2017-01-11.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tim Hornyak (July 25, 2012). "Cyton Gamma robot arm to work with humanity". CNET. Retrieved 2017-01-14. Philadelphia-based robotics firm Robai... latest of its Cyton robot arms is the Cyton Gamma, and it's designed [for non-roboticists] ...Gamma's seven joints are 'kinematically redundant,' Robai says... This gives it [the robot arm] more dexterity. The increased workload on the control system [caused by the seven degrees of freedom] is handled by Actin, software from Energid Technologies that was developed for robots at NASA. The [control] system uses a simple 3D graphical interface. ...connects to Linux, Windows, or OS X systems via USB. Aside from programming with the GUI... tested in applications such as remote inspection, manufacturing, and healthcare, according to Robai.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Talk at the International Astronautical Congress, https://spinoff.nasa.gov/pdf/IAC%202011%20Quantifying%20Spinoff%20Benefits.pdf
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.