The H-ROS System on Module (SoM) is a tiny device for building industrial grade plug + play robot modules. It delivers a complete package that provides security, automatic updates, a high speed (Gigabit Ethernet), synchronous and real-time capable communication bus, a Real-Time Operating System and an enhanced ROS 2 setup. Altogether, the H-ROS SoM simplifies the process of integrating robot parts into the modern robot ecosystem and reduces the costs and time to market.
The SoM also integrates a variety of sensors and power mechanisms that allow to manage the hardware and software lifecycle of the resulting robot module. In addition, its flexible architecture and reconfigurable I/O (RIO) simplifies the interface with a wide variety of robot parts that use different communication buses.
In collaboration with Alias Robotics
Unsecure robots are unsafe. In collaboration with our partner Alias Robotics, we challenge the security of our H-ROS SoM. Both software and hardware are assessed continuously, allowing our SoM to be ahead of malicious actors.
The H-ROS SoM delivers a fully distributed software and hardware robotic architecture powered by ROS 2, enabling new capabilities. Examples include high levels of hardware introspection, selective control of each hardware component's lifecyle (e.g. switch components on or off selectively, limit the power consumption, produce notifications, etc.), simplified maintenance prediction and even simplified robot hardware comparisons.
We are actively working with experts around the world to shape up new standards for modularity. In addition, our team is heavily working on having our H-ROS SoM comply with a variety of ISO and IEC standards.
Request more informationOur solution provides distributed sub-microsecond clock synchronization accuracy among robotic modules, which leads to synchronization between ROS communications close to 1 millisecond* (ms) in controlled environments, end-to-end.
Why critical? The lack of synchronization has several implications for real-time robotic systems such as a lack of coordination among software and hardware components, added latencies due to stochastic arrival time offsets, inaccurate data reconstruction or inference among others.
*results from the integration of the H-ROS SoM in the Hans Motor D-module actuator.
The H-ROS SoM deploys an optimized Linux-based Real-Time Operating System in a hybrid architecture that gets particularly customized for each robot component needs. With our solution, the communication latencies of the augmented components (the modules) stay always below 2 milliseconds* (ms) for controlled environments.
Why determinism? Real-time is not real-fast, but determinism. The operating system is critical for real-time robotic control. Having a deterministic behavior through time and through different conditions allows robots (and robot modules) to respond appropriately.
*results from the integration of the H-ROS SoM in the Hans Motor D-module actuator.
We enable applications to operate predictably in the presence of network congestion. Even with traffic bursts above 90% of the channel capacity, our H-ROS SoM delivers deterministic communication latencies. In particular, we are able to remain stable and provide with communication latencies below 2 milliseconds* (ms) when faced with traffic bursts of 900 Mbps.
Why resilience? Most robot components interact in networked environments together with other robot components. They require their communication latencies to be contained in the presence of noise. Network resilient modules operate predictably, even in the worst conditions.
*results from the integration of the H-ROS SoM in the Hans Motor D-module actuator.
The HANS D-motor actuator is an industrial-grade 2 DoF electrical motor that includes encoders and an electro-mechanical breaking system. The device is mostly used on industrial applications and it’s available on a variety of different torque/size combinations. The actuator operates as an EtherCAT slave and can be controlled through this bus. For most robotics applications, roboticists will tend to use the Robot Operating System (ROS). In this case of study, we compare the traditional ROS approach and ours using H-ROS. We discuss the different improvements and provide insight about the additional capabilities that H-ROS delivers.
Download itThe SoM facilitates a common interface (HRIM) that enables communication among different robot modules, regardless of the manufacturer.
Extend robot modules and add additional functionality using our AI-powered API available through the SoM.
H-ROS-empowered modules are recognized automatically. Build robots that adapt and change depending on available hardware.
The SoM enables distributed sub-microsecond clock synchronization accuracy. Allowing accurate motion control coordination and accurate sensor data acquisition timestamping.
Powered by a hybrid architecture and featuring Linux, the SoM delivers a deterministic firm real-time operating system.
The SoM enables applications to operate predictably in the presence of network congestion.
Purely distributed robot modules built with ROS 2. First class participants of the ROS 2 ecosystem.
An encrypted computing and communication environment. Hacker-tested robot modules through continuous security audits.
Over-The-Air (OTA) updates for robot parts. The SoM keeps robot and robot modules updated, seamlessly.
Applying individual policy rules, the SoM ensures that modules meet their specifications and don't compromise the network.
The SoM allows for a variety of different redundant network architectures (daisy-chain, line, ring, tree, etc.) gaining reliability.
The SoM enables the growth from individual modules to large robots filled with hundreds of them in multi-network setups.
Reserve bandwidth for high-priority traffic with the SoM while, at the same time, ensure that best effort traffic will continue to flow.
The SoM allows to dynamically estimate the available bandwidth in the network and empowers roboticists with its status.
