CommunicationsbetweenOperatorand

RobotfortheDRCFinals

Release2onJanuary27,2015.DISTARCase23912

RevisionHistory
1 Introduction
2 OverviewoftheDRCFinalsCommsSystem
2.1FieldComputers
2.1.1PowerforComputers
2.1.2FieldComputerConnectors
2.2CloudServices
3WirelessLinktoRobot
3.1WirelessRadioSelection
3.2AntennaSelection
3.3AntennaMounting
3.4OperatingFrequencies
3.5RadioConfiguration
3.6WiredWirelessConnection
3.7RestrictionsandLimitations
3.7.1ThroughputRestrictions
3.7.2PacketLoss
3.7.3UDP/TCP
3.7.4DisallowedTechnology
4CommunicationsbetweenRobotandOperator
4.1LinkProperties
4.2IPVersion,IPaddresses,Subnets,Ports,andPacketSize
4.3PhysicalConnections
4.4SequesteredOperators
5WiredConnectors
6CommunicationsforEmergencyStops
7SimpleExample
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RevisionHistory
Thissectioncapturesmajorchangestothisdocument.

Date

Section

Description

11/30/2014

Document

Release1

1/27/2015

Document
Document

Figure1

Release2
IncreasednumberofLink3ports.Changed1023to
2047threeplacesintext,andonceinFigure1
Changed6384to16384tocorrecttypographic
error

1 Introduction
Thecommunications(comms)infrastructurenowbeingcreatedfortheDARPARobotic
Challenge(DRC)Finalshasbeendesignedwithtwoprimarygoals:reliabilityandthe
encouragementofrobotautonomy.

ReliabilityisbeingaddressedbypreassemblingtheFinalsinfrastructureatatheSPAWAR
SystemsCenterAtlantic(SSCLANT)facilityinSouthCarolinaandallowingteamstotest
endtoendcommsatthisfacilityusingtheirownrobotortheirownsurrogatesystem.In
addition,DARPAwillsupplyallteamsqualifiedtocompeteintheFinalswithpreconfigured
radioequipmentthatisknowntobecompatiblewithDRCFinalscommsinfrastructure.Teams
willberequiredtousetheseradiosandonlytheseradios.Radios,antennas,androbot
estopswillbeprovidedbyMarch1,2015toallqualifiedteams.

DARPAconsidersthatautonomycanbegaugedbyhowmuch,andhowquicklydataneeds
tobeexchangedbetweenahumanoperatorandarobotinordertoexecuteagiventask.
Whenperformingaparticulartaskinaspecifiedtime,thefewerbitsexchanged,thegreater
thedemonstratedautonomy.TopromoteautonomyDARPAwillcreatecontrollednetwork
serviceinterruptionswithsubstantialdurationinwhichonlylowdataratecommunication
betweenhumansandrobotswillbepossible.Theblackoutswillbestructuredsothatteams
withmoreautonomoussystemswillbeabletoprogressthrougharunmorequickly.However,
therewillalsobesufficientdataexchangeduringsomeperiodssothatteamswithless
autonomywillbeabletoperformsometaskssuccessfully,albeitmoreslowly.Notethat
teamsthatscorethesamenumberofpointsforsuccessfullycompletingtaskswillberanked
onhowquicklytheycompletedthesetasks.(SeeSection7,RulesoftheDRCFinals.)

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InasignificantchangefromtheDRCTrialsofDecember2013,allrobotswillbeuntethered
attheDRCFinalsinJune2015.Thismeanstherewillbenobelays,nopowercables,andall
commstotherobotwilltraveloverwirelesslinksprovidedbytheDARPAsuppliedradios.

2 OverviewoftheDRCFinalsComms
System
Figure1showsasimplifiedlogicaldiagramofkeycommunicationslinks.Thediagram
showstheRobotatthetop,awirelesslinkbelowthat,theFieldComputerinthemiddle,the
DegradedCommunicationsEmulatorbelowthat,andtheOperatorControlStation(OCS)at
thebottom.ItemsshowningreenwillbesuppliedattheFinalsbyDARPA.

2.1FieldComputers
TheFieldComputerisan
optional

computer(ormultiplecomputers)thatteamsuseto
processdata,forexample,streamsofimagesforvisualodometry.TheFieldComputer
servesasasurrogateforthevastlyimprovedcomputersthatareexpectedtobeavailablein
thefutureandthatcouldbebuiltintofuturedisasterresponserobots.Teamswillnotbe
rewardedorpunishedforusingFieldComputer(s).

2.1.1PowerforComputers
Teamswillhaveatotaloutofthewallpowerbudgetforcomputingof8KW,whichwillbe
providedbyfour(4)twenty(20)Ampere110Vcircuits.ThisbudgetissharedbyanyField
ComputersandOperatorControlStations.(Inaddition,DARPAwillprovideaseparatecircuit
foroperatingandchargingrobots.)

DARPAnetworkingsystemswillnotsupportPoweroverEthernet(PoE).

2.1.2FieldComputerConnectors
TheFieldComputer(s)shallconnectviaCAT5CopperTwistedPairGigabitEthernetusing
RJ45connectors.

2.1.3 Field Computer Location and Access

FieldComputerswillbeoperatedinadedicatedroomsuppliedbyDARPAthatisremotefrom
theteamgarages.TeamswillhaveaccesstothisroomtoservicetheirFieldComputers.

2.2CloudServices
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Thecloudservices,connectedtotheOperatorControlStationbyaVirtualPrivateNetwork
(VPN)DARPA,providedare
optional

andmaybeusedforincreasedcomputingpowerand
storage.Thedataratetothecloudserviceswillbe50Mbit/secineachdirection.

Figure1.SimplifiedLogicalCommunicationsDiagram.Thecommunicationslinks(as
numberedinthisfigure)aredescribedinthefollowingsections.

3WirelessLinktoRobot

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RobotswillcommunicatewiththeiroperatorsbidirectionallyoverwirelessLink1inFigure1
tobesuppliedbyDARPA.DARPAwillsupplyteamsthathavequalifiedfortheDRCFinals
withradios,eachwithawiredEthernetinterfacebyMarch1,2015.

DARPAexpectsthewirelesscommunicationlinktoprovide300Mbit/sec(Megabitsper
second)ofbandwidth.Tomaximizethroughput,teamsshouldavoidsendingsmallpackets
andselfregulatepacketratesinbothdirections.DARPAsradioswilldiscardexcesspackets.

Thewirelesslinkwillhavegreaterpacketlossthanawiredconnection.Teamsshouldplanfor
approximately210%packetloss.DARPAwillnotintentionallydegradethewirelesslink.

3.1WirelessRadioSelection
TheNetgearR7000(3x3MIMO)platform,utilizingDDWRTsoftwarewithDARPAspecific
configurationswillbetheradiousedforDRCfinals.Theradiosboughtandsuppliedby
DARPAaretheofficialradios.Otherradios,eventhosebythesamemanufacturerandthe
samemodelnumber,arenotsupportedandmaynotworkasintended.

3.2AntennaSelection
Therewillbe3wirelessdataradioflexiblerubberduckantennasontherobotthatwillbe
providedbyDARPA.

Theseantennasprovideanomnidirectionalsignal,stockSMAconnectorsforradioantenna
leads,acceptablesizeandweight,andoptimalworkingrange.

3.3AntennaMounting
Teamsarefreetomounttheradioandantennasontherobotastheyseefit,includingthe
possibilityofseparatingtheantennasfromtheradioforbetterantennaplacement.

IfateamdesirestoremovetheantennasfromtheradioDARPAwillprovidethree(3)
threefootRFcablestoaccommodateseparatingtherobotradiofromtheantennas.Routing
ofthecablewillrequireaminimumbenddiameterofatleastsix(6)inchesforallantenna
cablechangesofdirection.Longercablescanlikelybeaccommodated,butDARPAtesting
willfocusonantennasdirectlyconnectedtotheradioandwiththeantennasconnected
utilizingtheDARPAsuppliedthreefootRFcables.

Whenmountingtheantennas,teamsshouldconsiderthefollowing:

Occlusion

Duringtesting,metalobstructions(i.e.arobotshead)betweentheradiopair
willvastlyreducetheachievablethroughput
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Participantsshouldconsiderachievingaclearlineofsighttotheantennas
betweenanAccessPointandclientantennas

Participantscanassumea20upwardanglefromtherobottotheDARPAsupplied
AccessPoint

Therangeofmotionoftheirrobot

Antennasdislodgedduringarunarenoteligibleforrepairbyapersonuntilthe
runconcludes.

Possibleimpactzonesintheeventofafall

3.4OperatingFrequencies

ConfigurationType

Setting

FrequencyBand

5GHz

ChannelWidth

80MHz

ChannelNumber(Frequency)

36(5.180GHz),132(5.680GHz),
52(5.260GHz),149(5.745GHz)

3.5RadioConfiguration
Theconnectionusedtoestablishnetworkconnectivitybetweentheclientandserverwireless
radiosisknownasawirelessclientbridge.Theserverradio(fixedsite,i.e.locatedon/near
thetestcourse)willbeconfiguredinAccessPointmodeandtheclientradio(Robotmounted)
willbeconfiguredforClientBridgemode.(SeeFigure1.)

DARPAwillprovideonepairofpreconfiguredradiostoeachparticipant(team)fortestingat
theirhomelocationpriortotheDRCFinals.

TheAccessPointusedduringDRCFinalsonthetestcourseswillbeinstalledandconfigured
byDARPA.TheAccessPointusedintheteamsprivategarageareaforpracticewillbethe
oneprovidedbyDARPAfortheteamsuseattheirhomesitepriortoarrivingatDRCFinals.
TeamsmustusetheprovidedrobotmountedclientradioforDRCFinalsbothinthegarage
andwhenonthetestcourse.

WhenateamisactiveontheDRCFinalscoursetheyarerequiredtoutilizetheDARPA
installedAccessPointon/nearthetestcourselocation.Asaresult,allparticipantsare
requiredtoutilizethepreconfiguredsoftwareandconfigurations.NOparticipantshallmake
changestotheDARPAprovidedconfigurations.
DARPAisnotresponsiblefor
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incompatibleradiopairingduetoanyunauthorizedsoftwareorconfigurationchanges
madebyaparticipant.

DARPAreservestherighttoreloadsoftwareandconfigurationsonanyradioatany
timeforanyreason.

PriortoaparticipantmovingfromthegarageareaontotheDRCFinalscourse,DARPAwill
requireanetworkcheckouttoconfirmconnectivitybetweentheoperatorandrobotviathe
DARPAnetwork.Moreinformationregardingthenetworkcheckoutwillbeprovidedatalater
date.

DARPAwillprovideaconfigurationfilewitheachradiopairalongwithinstructionsonhowto
loadtheconfigurationfileintheeventtheradiorequiresafactorydefaultreset.

3.6WiredWirelessConnection
DARPAwillsupplythree(3)twentyfootlongRFcablesandproperattenuators.These
componentswillallowthewirelessradiomountedontherobotandtheDARPAprovided
wirelessAccessPointradio(providedtoallowtestingwhileattheteamshomelocation)tobe
hardwiredtogether.Thishardwiringisdonetoallowafullsystemtest(minusonlytheradio
antennas)withouthavingtodealwithuncontrollablewirelessinterference.

Teamswillberequiredtouseahardwiredapproachforfullsystemtestinginthe
garage.

3.7RestrictionsandLimitations

3.7.1ThroughputRestrictions
DARPAwillinstallthroughputlimitsof300Mbit/secondataflowingtoandfromtherobot.
(I.e.datatheRobotistransmittingoverthewirelesslink+datatheRobotisreceivingoverthe
wirelesslink)300Mbit/sec.)DARPAhasnopositiononwhatsizepacketsateamchooses
toutilizesolongasMTU=1500.

3.7.2PacketLoss
Therewillbepacketsdroppedduetotheinclusionofthewirelesslinkintothenetwork.No
wirelessnetworkisasreliableasawirednetwork.DARPAsuggeststhatteamsbeprepared
toaddresspacketlossinthe210%range,toandfromtherobot.Antennaplacement,high
mobility,andotherteam/robotissuesaffectboththroughputandlosscharacteristicsof
wirelessnetworksandarethesoleresponsibilityoftheteams.Thispacketlossis
not
partof
theintentionalcommunicationoutagesthatDARPAwillbeimposingduringruns.

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3.7.3UDP/TCP
DARPAhasnopositiononUDPversusTCPandtheteamsarefreetoutilizeeitherora
combinationofbothwhereappropriate.However,allthroughputresultsandalltestingwas
conductedutilizingUDPandDARPAsspecificationsforthroughputonlyapplytoUDP.

3.7.4DisallowedTechnology
SinceDRCFinalsisleveragingwirelesstechnologyasthenetworkingbackbonebetweenthe
operatorsandtherobotsviathe5GHzband,wearerequiringthatnoteamsactivate5GHz
AccessPointsor
[J3]
anyothertransmitter/receiverofanykindwhileatthecompetition.
DARPAwillbeactivelyscanningfor5GHztransmittersatthecoursesandinthegarages.

Inadditionteamsmaynotusetheirown2.4GHzaccesspoints.Whenrunsaretakingplace
teamswillnotbeallowedtouseany2.4GHZnetworks.Whenrunsarenottakingplace,
DARPAwillprovidea2.4GHzlinktotheInternet.

4CommunicationsbetweenRobotand
Operator
4.1LinkProperties
Link1inFigure1isthewirelesslinktoandfromtherobot.

TheOperatorControlStation(OCS)communicateswiththeRobot(possiblythroughaField
Computer)throughLink2andLink3inFigure1bywayofaDegradedCommunications
Emulator(DCE).TheDCEwillemulatesignallossthatmightoccurduetopoorRFsignal
penetrationthroughwalls.

Link2isunidirectionalandcarriesdatafromtherobottotheOCS.Dataonthislinkwilluse
ports16384to24575.Becauseitisunidirectional,Link2cannotbeusedforTCP.

Link2willoperateintwomodes:whiletherobotisattemptingTasks1,2,3,9,and10,
link2willsupportabout300Mbit/secofdata.Link2willhaveminimallatencytotheOCS.At
allothertimes,Link2willprovideonesecondburstsofdataatapproximately300Mbits/sec,
interspersedwithblackoutsofvaryinglengths.Thelengthoftheblackoutswillbebetween1
and30seconds.

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Figure1showsthesignallossemulatorasaSinglePole,SingleThrow(SPST)switch.When
theswitchisopen,nodataflowsandthereisablackout.Whentheswitchisclosedaone
secondburstofdataistransmittedat300Mbit/sec.

Atthestartofarunnoblackoutswilllastmorethan30seconds.Theaveragelengthof
blackoutswilldecreaseduringthecourseofarun.Atabout50minutesintoarun,blackouts
willnolongeroccur.

PacketsheldbytheDCEatthestartofablackoutwillbediscardedpacketsreceivedbythe
DCEduringblackoutwillbediscarded.

Theblackoutscheduleforagivendaywillbemadeavailabletoteamsthepreviousday.The
sameschedulewillbeusedonallcoursesandforallrunsthroughagivenday.Theschedule
maychangefromdaytoday.

Link3isanalwaysonbidirectionallinkbetweentheOCSandtherobot.Link3willhavea
constantdatarate(tobedetermined)between9600bit/secand2,000bit/secandwillsupport
TCPandUDP.Link3willalsocarrybidirectionaltrafficforInternetControlMessageProtocol
(ICMP)andwillhaveathroughputof4800bit/s.Dataonthislinkwilluseports0to2047.Link
3willbethedefaultroute.

Link4isaDARPAprovidedVirtualPrivateNetwork(VPN)connectiontooptionalcloud
computingresourcesavailabletoteams.Thelinksupports50Mbit/secdataratesineach
direction.

4.2IPVersion,IPaddresses,Subnets,Ports,andPacket
Size
TeamswilluseIPV4forallcommunicationsusingtheDARPAinfrastructure.IPV6willnotbe
supported.

TeamswillusethefollowingconventionforIPaddresses:Eachteamwillbeassignedan
identificationnumber,N,between1and30.TeamNisassigned10.N.y.xasitssubnetsfor
theentirecompetition.

10.N.1.xisthesubnetthatteamNwilluseforitsOCUcomputer(s).
10.N.2.xisthesubnetthatteamNwilluseforitsFieldcomputer(s).
10.N.3.xisthesubnetthatteamNwilluseforitsRobotcomputer(s).

Ports12047willspecifythatLink3(Bidirectional20009600bit/sec)willbeusedfora
particularmessage.
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Ports1638424575willspecifythatLink2(Unidirectional300Mbit/sec)willbeusedfora
particularmessage.

TheIPaddresssettingsneedtoshowtheIPPrefixlengthswhichwillbe/24.

Packetsizeislimited:theMaximumTransmissionUnit(MTU)is1500.Jumbopacketsarenot
allowed.

4.3PhysicalConnections
Physicalconnectionsbetweenanyfieldcomputers,theOCS,andtheDARPAnetworkwillbe
madebymaleRJ45cablessuppliedbyDARPA

WhentherobotisinthegarageitalsocanbeconnectedtotheDARPAnetworkwithamale
RJ45cable.

TeamsareencouragedtomakeuseoftheDARPAnetworktoassurethatanynetworking
problemsareresolvedquickly.

4.4SequesteredOperators
Operatorswillbesequestered.Atnotimemayanyoftheoperatorsreceiveinformationfrom
anyoneoranythingviewingtherobot.DARPAwillhaveobserversattheFinalstomonitor
compliance.

5WiredConnectors
IntheunlikelyeventofawirelesscommunicationsfailureintheDARPAinfrastructure,
DARPArequiresthatteamsbepreparedtousewiredcommsconnectionsbetweenrobots
andFieldComputers(ifpresent)orOperatorControlStations(ifthereisnoFieldComputer).
DARPAwillsupplythecables

,butteamsmustsupplyfemaleRJ45connectorsmountedon
theirrobots.Sincetheremaybesignificanttensiononsuchcables,teamsshouldprovide
strainreliefmechanismstoreducethechanceofdamagetotheirRJ45connectors.

6CommunicationsforEmergencyStops
ByMarch1,2015,DARPAwillsupplyawirelessemergencystopsystemtoteamsthathave
qualifiedfortheDRCFinals.TheeStopissuppliedbyHRIseeappendicesAandB.

TeamsmustusethisestopduringFinals.
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Teamsmustintegratethissystemontheirrobotsanddemonstrateitsfunctionalitybeforethey
maycompeteintheDRCFinals.

7SimpleExample

Asahypotheticalexample,assumethatTeam5wantstosendacommandtotheirrobotto
moveitsarm.Team5wantstoreceiveasimplecommandofsuccessoncompletebackto
theOCSfromtheFieldComputer.Italsowantstoreceiveavideofromoneofthecameras
whilethearmisinmotion.

Team5isassigned10.5.x.xasitsteam'ssubnetsfortheentirecompetition.

10.5.1.xisthesubnetthatTeam5willuseforitsOCScomputer/computers.
10.5.2.xisthesubnetthatTeam5willuseforitsFieldcomputer/computers.
10.5.3.xisthesubnetthatTeam5willuseforitsRobotcomputer/computers.

Letssayinordertogettherobotsarmtomove,someprocessingmustbedoneonthefield
computer.

Letsalsosayinordertogettherobotsarmtomove,theOCSneedstosendacommandto
theFieldComputertostarttheprocessing.

Step1:Team5sendsacommandonport23fromtheOCS(10.5.1.12)totheFieldComputer
(10.5.2.32)
Sincethisportisinthelowbandwidthrange(02047),itwilluseLink3inordertogettothe
FieldComputer.

Step2:Afterprocessingthecommands,theFieldComputerwouldthensendthecommands
neededtotheRobot(10.5.3.54)

Step3:Robotcompletesthearmmotion.Duringthistime,therobotiscapturingvideothatit
istryingtosendbacktotheOCS.
Inordertoreceivequalityvideo,itwouldwanttouseLink2toretrievethevideo.
Toaccomplishthis,therobotwouldneedtouseahigherportnumbersomewhereinthe
rangeof(16384424575)sothattrafficissentcorrectlybacktotheOCSifLink2isturnedon.
Iftherobotis'inside'(seeRulesofDRCFinals,section6fordefinitionofinsidevsoutside)
thevideomaynotarriveduetoLink2beingturnedoff.

Step4:RobotsendscompletionnoticebacktoOCS.
Thiscouldbeaccomplishedbysendingoverasmallerportsuchastelnet(port23)
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ThiswillguaranteearrivalduethetrafficflowingbackoverLink3totheOCSattheslower
datarate.

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