ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we present a new control architecture for mobile robots that emphasizes the encapsulation ofdata, tasks, and control into independent modules that specialize in specific functions of the system and which we call specialists. The resulting architecture is modular and flexible and facilitates the distributed implementation and heterogeneity of its components. The experiments carried out on a Nomad 200 robot executing various navigational tasks demonstrate that this specialistbased architecture is suitable for the design and synthesis of autonomous intelligent control systems that need to tackle multiples tasks such as avoiding static and moving obstacles in real time and in real, dynamic, and complex environments, as occurs in the majority of mobile robot applications.
