SSS: A hybrid architecture applied to robot navigation

Abstract

The author describes a three-layer architecture, SSS, for robot control. It combines a servo-control layer, a subsumption layer, and a symbolic layer in a way that allows the advantages of each technique to be fully exploited. The key to this synergy is the interface between the individual subsystems. The design of situation recognizers that bridge the gap between the servo and subsumption layers, and event detectors that link the subsumption layers and symbolic layers are discussed. The development of such a combined system is illustrated by a fully implemented indoor navigation example. The resulting robot was able to automatically map office building environments, and smoothly navigate through them at the rapid speed of 2.6 feet per second.