Abstract
This paper presents a method to update running RTLinux robot controller programs (RTU) on the fly. The proposed method exploits thread swapping. This paper focuses on the safety conditions of thread swapping, platform requirements, realtime issues, and uncertainties in RTU completion time. This paper introduces RTU-able software design by layered modules which enable the update of servo functions and robot model global variables. We have developed a RTU-able mobile manipulator controller, evaluated its performance by worst case results, and shown its practical applicability.
