Mission monitor sequencer

Introduction

NB! This is module is no longer supported Rename the missions for this module by:

• rename the <plan ...> </plan> tags to <rule ... > </rule>
• rename the file extension from .mis to .rule

---

This plug-in implements a a language that is a mixture of a rule-based and a sequential based language. The idea is that a number of situations need permanent - or semi permanent - monitoring to get a good situation awareness for the root, and at the same time a large number of the robot tasks are better described by a sequential language.

This implementation attempts to cover this gab.

Language

An example function could look like this:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<plan name="CrossRoad">
   <init>
       odoPose.tripB = 0
       nearRoad = false // define local variable
       <plan name="maxOdoDist" if="odoPose.tripB > 250">
           // this is a rule to moditor distance traveled since trip-counter were reset
           print("Driven too far on odo " odoPose.tripB "m") // print message
           break CrossRoad // failed to cross road - could trigger a relocalization
       </plan>
       <plan name="closeToRoad" if="hypot(utmPose.poseY - 6174307, utmPose.poseX - 707873) < 15" >
           // this is a rule that monitors the distance to an UTM point
           print("Cose to road slowing down) // print message
           smr.speed=0.5  // set the desired maximum speed in mrc interface module
           nearRoad = true  // set flag
           disable  // disable this rule
       </plan>
       <plan name="turn">
           <parameter angle="pi" dist=1.0/>
           // this is a plan 
           <commands to="smr.send">
             # construct commands to MRC using the smr.send command
             'drive @v ' smr.speed ' : ($drivendist > ' dist ')'
             'turn ' angle
             'drive : ($drivendist > ' dist ')'
           </commands>
       </plan>
   </init>
   print("started")
   roaddrive.right(0.75) : nearRoad // follow road 75cm from edge until near road
   // more stuff missing here to detect traffic etc.
   ...
   turn() // turn back - using a call to a plan
   success=true
   <post>
       print("finsihed crossRoad - success=" success)
   </post>
</plan>

A number of these plans can be started (enabled) simultaniously, an can in principle be total independant. I.e.one can control the robot arm while another controls the navigation.

Language keywords

<plan>

A plan statement must be formed as a XML block structure, as shown below

<plan name="foo" run="true">
   statements
</plan>
<plan name="bar" if="rule_condition">
   statements
</plan>

Plans comes in two flavors, a rule or just a plan. A rule must have a rule condition in an if="" attribute like the plan "bar" above. A plan without the if="" attribute is inactive until called, or made active by a "enable" statement. It it is a top-level plan, then it can be made active when loaded by a run="true" attribute. The run="true" attribute will make it run once

The plan may have a description, like

<plan name="foo" run="true">
   <description>
   This is the descriptive text of "foo", it may have any length, and is intended as an on-line available description of the plan.
   It is optional and recommended only for top-level plans.
   </description>
   statements
</plan>

A plan may have optional parameters, that can be used if the plan is called from another plan (as a procedure or function, that do not return a value), i.e.:

<plan name="foo">
   <parameters x="0.28" y="0" th="pi"/>
   statements
</plan>
<plan name="bar">
   foo()
   foo(1.5, 0.0, pi/2)
</plan>

Here the plan "bar" uses the "foo" plan as function, first by using the default values, and after this with new values replacing the default values in "foo". The parameters in "foo" works like local variables in the "foo" plan. A plan may be called recursively, and each call will have its own set of local variables. There is a limit to the number nested calls.

A plan may define local variables and plans, like

<plan name="foo">
   <init>
      x = 88;
      x2 = sqr(x)
      <plan name="bar" if="x < 22")
         print("x is now " x)
      </plan>
   </init>
   statements
</plan>

Here x and x2 are newly established local variables The rule "bar" is active as long as the plan "foo" is active.

Enable/Disable

This will make a plan active - if not already, or stop or prohibit a plan from getting active, e.g.

enable foo

Will make the plan "foo" active, that is start running the code as if it was a rule. If there is a rule condition, then the code will not run until this is satisfied.

If the plan is active already, either it is an active rule or the plan is waiting at a control statement, the statement will have no effect.

The disable command:

disable foo

Will disable the plan "foo", if the plan is a rule, then the rule condition will no longer be evaluated. If the plan is waiting at a control statement, then this will be interrupted, and any post-lines will be executed, before the plan is disabled. If the plan is not a rule and is not waiting at a control statement, then the statement will have no effect.

A rule can disable itself with the statement:

disable

(a plan can not enable itself)

Language definition

The language definition is:

Plan

planBlock ::= planOpenTag planBody planCloseTag

planOpenTag ::= '<plan' 'name=' planName [runAttribute] [ruleCondition] '>\n'

planName ::= '"' symbol '"'

runAttribute ::= 'run="default"' (there may come more values later)

ruleCondition ::= 'if="' expression '"' (this expression may be split into more lines)

planCloseTag ::= '</plan>\n'

planBody ::= [parameters] [description] [planInitBlock] planMainBlock [planPostBlock]

parameters ::= '<parameters ' [symbol '="' [paramDefaultValue] '"']* '/>\n'

paramDefaultValue ::= constantValue

description ::= '<description>\n' xmlText '</description>\n'

xmlText ::= any 7-bit characters except '\0', '&' and '<', the last two must be coded as & and <

planInitBlock ::= '<init>\n' [declarationStatement]* '</init>\n'

declarationStatement ::= planBlock | executableStatement

planMainBlock ::= [statement]*

planPostBlock ::= '<post>\n' [statement]* '</post>\n'

Statements

statement ::= executableStatement | controlStatement

executableStatement ::= assignment | procedureCall | blockStatement | breakStatement | enableStatement | ifStatement | emptyStatement

controlStatement ::= proceureCall ':' expression [remark] '\n'

assignment ::= [symbol.]* symbol '=' expression [remark] '\n'

procedureCall ::= [symbol.]* symbol '(' [expression [',' expression]* ')' [remark] '\n'

blockStatement ::= '<block>\n' [statement]* '</block>\n'

breakStatement ::= ('break' [symbol] | 'continue' ) [remark] '\n'

enableStatement ::= ('enable' | 'disable') [symbol] [remark] '\n'

ifStatement ::= 'if (' expression ')' [remark] '\n' statement [remark] '\n' [elseStatement]

elseStatement ::= 'else' [remark] '\n' statement [remark] '\n'

emptyStatement ::= [remark] '\n'

remark ::= ('#' | ';' | '//') xmlText except '\n'