ITEE Innovation Expo 2008 : Project Details

Run-Time Configurable Ethernet/IP Stack

Underlying every real-world robotics system is the need for efficient and reliable communication of time-critical data between controllers, sensors, actuators and remote-monitoring systems. Ethernet/IP (E/IP) is an open-source communications protocol that fulfils this need. It makes use of the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP), a high-level communication standard targeted specifically at industrial automation, to specify how data must be encapsulated over an everyday Ethernet network. This project aimed to produce an Ethernet/IP stack that significantly improved upon previous implementations by being fully runtime-configurable, and thereby allowing it to be redeployed onto entirely different systems by merely altering a parameter file, rather than by modifying the entire underlying system. This was achieved by defining an XML parameter format that allowed for the serialisation of CIP object data, and then creating a software stack capable of using this data to interface with other applications. This required extensive investigation into client/server networking, object-oriented programming and effective serialisation techniques. The proposed solution was to be implemented and tested on a real system as part of the CSIRO Landmark Longwall Automation Project. The Longwall project comprises an attempt to fully automate a coal mining operation, and required Ethernet/IP stacks for communication between all key components including the controllers, the roof support, the face alignment system and inertial navigation. This added a significant extra dimension to the project, as it became necessary to demand an extremely high level of reliability and robustness in order to function under harsh mining conditions.