Summary of this update is it has a new service engine to support advanced navigation and positioning systems.

Read more about it here: https://synthiam.com/Support/ARC-Overview/robot-navigation-messaging-system

This update includes underlying framework changes in ARC for handling navigation messages between skills. Participating skills can contribute data to the Navigation Messaging System for...

1) lidar/obstacle scanners using any kind of obstacle sensor (ping, laser, ultrasonic, ir, etc.)

2) path way-point navigation (ips, wheel encoders, roomba movement panel, intel realsense t265, etc.)

Skills can also be written to become Navigators, which subscribe to the navigation data and render it as they seem fit. An example of a navigator is The Navigator skill. It receives and displays navigation data from other skills, such as the Intel RealSense T265 skill. The Navigator uses the data to assemble a map of the world and control the robot autonomously into different locations on that map.

This also means that it will be easy to support additional lidar and slam systems in the future. If a lidar or some obstacle detection sensor were to be supported, it merely has to feed data into the ARC navigation messaging system. And if a SLAM visual renderer were to be added, it only has to subscribe to the Navigation Messaging System to receive sensor events.







- Navigation messaging & event system

- Global messaging system (allows skills to push data on the "wire" for any other skill to receive and parse by type)

- Navigation messaging commands added to JavaScript and Python in the Navigation namespace for script level custom interaction

Here's a screenshot of how the Intel Realsense driver is feeding localization data into the messaging system. The Navigator is another skill which receives the navigation data and renders it for navigation features. This allows multiple robot skills to contribute sensor and positioning data for localization. In this screenshot, and the video below, I am walking the sensor around the room of my home office and returning to the position i started in.

1) is the intel realsense t265 skill that feeds data into the navigation messaging service

2) is "The Navigator", which is a new localization and way point navigation system. It subscribes to both the path and obstacle events. Meaning, it creates a map of the environment which can be saved and used to control the robot to move into different rooms or places.



Here's a video example