Multi-Task Active-Vision in Robotics
Jorge Cabrera‐Gámez, D. Hernandez, A. Dominguez, E. Fernandez · InTech eBooks · 2010
In this chapter we describe the main problems associated with the integration of active vision and multitasking. This configuration, though attractive, must be properly handled by means of simplification strategies that cope with its inherent complexity. Besides, the programming of this kind of complex system is prone to conclude often in monolithic adhoc solutions. These problems are illustrated through the analysis of MTVS, a prototype system that proposes an open architecture for the integration of concurrent visual tasks. In MTVS the client's requests are articulated on the basis of a reduced set of services or visual primitives. All the low level control/coordination aspects are hidden to the clients simplifying the programming and allowing for an open and dynamic composition of visual activity from much simpler visual capabilities. Regarding the gaze control assignation problem, several schedulers have been implemented. The best results are obtained by a contextual scheme governed by urgencies, taking the interaction of the agent with its environment as organization principle instead of temporal frequencies. Usually, a correspondence between urgency and uncertainty about a relevant task element can be established. The internal structure of MTVS, its organization in terms of visual primitives and its separated scheduling mechanisms contribute to obtain modular software applications that facilitate maintenance and promote software reuse.