A new SysML profile for autonomous mobile robots development: ROS2ML

Abstract

For a long time, designing complex systems has been a difficult task for designers. Traditionally, it requires physical meetings between the different stakeholders of the system, which is more time-consuming and costly. However, this method faces difficulties when dealing with large and complex design problems. Today, researchers have started to propose several approaches and methodologies to simplify the design of complex systems such as autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). But they have been confronted with hardware and software design challenges that provoke further research in this robotic field and suggest possible solutions. In this work, we present a new integrated design approach for AMRs based on a new SysML profile (Systems Modeling Language) developed using DSL (Domain Specific Language) to include Robot Operating System (ROS2) objects and attributes. We called the new SysML profile ROS2ML. Indeed, the standard SysML diagrams have a general purpose use, they are applied to any system without specifying the way to simulate, integrate code and implement a robot on a ROS2 platform. Therefore, the new SysML profile is developed specifically for ROS2 concepts to facilitate the robotic systems integration. This new SysML profile (ROS2ML) guides the AMR developers through the design process up to the simulation of the robotic system on the ROS2 platform and the final implementation of the system. A case study was used to illustrate and confirm the effectiveness of the proposed methodology for the design of an AMR. The case study shows that the new ROS2ML profile allows robot designers, with different skills and objectives, to work together on several views, with a convention adapted to ROS2 specialists, while maintaining consistency between all views, with the aim of achieving functional, physical and software integration.