Meeting time requirements in robotics by a fieldbus communication system

This paper is a case study of the application of the IEC FieldBus, which is a particular digital serial communication system, to the control systems present in a robot dedicated to orange picking. The advantages of using this kind of communication system essentially lie in the fact that it reduces the complexity of the electrical wiring, the costs involved in installation, and the documentation required, and simplifies updating of the control system. By contrast, the complexity of the functions required of the robot entails a considerable exchange of information between processes, which stresses use of the bandwidth offered by the communication medium. The authors deal with the problem of the management of control traffic, exploiting IEC FieldBus features, and assessing its behaviour in different traffic conditions. Despite the particular application considered, the results obtained have a general validity and show the ability of the FieldBus to meet the communication requirements of time critical systems