The controllers of mobile robots are organized with different computational models depending on the abstraction layer, which results in their design and development processes using different methodologies and technologies. In this work, we present a common design framework that integrates the computational models of each layer into a network of extended finite-state machines (EFSMs). Its main advantage is to be technology-agnostic and can use different development technologies, ranging from a simple programming IDE to tool suites made of simulators, actual robots, and software, including the robotic operating system (ROS). This design framework evolved from early versions back in 2014 up to the most recent in 2024, which includes a simple deliberative level that bridges the robot with artificial intelligence (AI) tools and has been thoroughly tested in labs with undergraduate students of different engineering programs.
Lluís Ribas-Xirgo (Wed,) studied this question.