JERRY - A system for the automatic generation and execution of plans for robotic devices: The case study of the SPIDER arm

This paper describes JERRY, a system which supports the interactive design, planning, control and supervision of the operations of autonomous systems in a space environment. The aim of JERRY is to provide a high level of autonomy still retaining the possibility for the user to monitor, control and override potentially autonomous operations in a flexible way. JERRY is composed by a set of tightly integrated specialized subsystems, which have been designed to perform effectively and efficiently their specific tasks, and, at the same time, to be open to the interaction with the user and among: each other. This results in a system with a potential high level degree of autonomy, but which can still be controlled and guided through interaction. JERRY'S architecture and underlying ideas have been tested and made operational for monitoring and controlling a SPIDER robotic arm operating in an indoor environment very close to the payload tutor experiment described in [5].