Development of virtual robot controllers and future trends

This paper describes the development of standards for precise simulation of robot controllers. This development took place from 1991 to 2001 and brought considerable experience with the development of simulation standards, and their technical and organizational implementation. The latest standard, the Virtual Robot Controller (VRC) Interface, points out a new technology of simulation models. Besides increases in completeness and simulation accuracy, the models enable autonomous deep integration into simulation and programming tools. The developed technology can now be transferred also to further simulation components like PLCs, sensors, etc. The paper closes with a proposal for a family of standards. Proven concepts can be re-used for other areas, a high consistency of modeling features can be obtained and configuration efforts can be reduced.