Improving Robotic and Autonomous Systems Information Interoperability

Abstract

A well-documented capability deficiency in Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) is their lack of information interoperability within and between robotic systems, as well as between robotic systems and C2ISR networks. This inability stems from delivery of ‘stove-piped’ capabilities to meet urgent operational requirements, use of proprietary software, and bandwidth/payload constraints. This paper explains the use of a data-centric solution to improve information sharing through use of (1) a widely available translation language (eXtensible Markup Language (XML)) and, (2) a consistent implementation framework provided for within the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). The paper also describes a recent collaborative simulation event called the Simulated Interactive Robotic Initiative (SIRI). This event used XML messaging between simulated ground vehicles, the ground vehicles and the Control Station, and also performed some preliminary use analysis of Efficient XML Interchange (EXI), as an alternative to hand-crafted binary messaging.