Software Engineering for Robotics

Abstract

Robotic systems require well-organised and maintainable software to operate as intended. This chapter presents fundamental concepts from software engineering applied to robotics. Students will learn how to approach the design, implementation, and maintenance of complex robotic systems. Topics covered include the software development life cycle, object-oriented design principles, version control tools, and Agile development methodologies to promote organised and iterative development. Additionally, software design patterns that enable modularity and scalability will be discussed. Modularity allows systems to be decomposed into interchangeable components that can be developed and tested independently. By creating reusable components, students will learn how to scale their software to meet increasing complexity. These concepts will be demonstrated through examples in ROS, a popular robotics framework that facilitates communication between distributed components in robotic systems. To solidify their understanding, students will work in groups to iteratively design a modular ROS-based controller. This project is meant to emphasise the importance of teamwork, communication, and flexibility when working in multidisciplinary teams. Upon completion of this chapter, students will have the tools necessary to design, maintain, and manage complex robotics software systems.