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Chapter 14: System Architecture for Humanoid Robotics

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Fill in content from specs/001-physical-ai-book-specs/spec.md lines 1253-1321. Use Chapter 11 (11-voice-to-action.mdx) as formatting reference.

Overview​

TODO: Add overview paragraph introducing system architecture design (spec.md lines 1255-1257)

Target Audience: Developers designing production-ready robotic systems.

Learning Objectives​

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. TODO: Add learning objective 1 from spec.md line 1261
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Layered Architecture for Robotics​

TODO: Explain layered architecture (spec.md line 1269)

  • Hardware abstraction
  • Drivers
  • Middleware (ROS 2)
  • Application logic
  • AI layer

Mermaid Diagram TODO: Create Layered Architecture diagram (spec.md line 1296)

TODO: Hardware → Drivers → ROS 2 Middleware → Application Logic → AI Layer

Component Decomposition​

TODO: Explain component breakdown (spec.md line 1270)

  • Perception
  • Localization
  • Planning
  • Control
  • AI reasoning

Mermaid Diagram TODO: Create Component Interaction diagram (spec.md line 1297)

TODO: Show perception, localization, planning, control, and AI modules with data flows

Example TODO: Add example architecture (spec.md line 1279)

ROS 2 Communication Patterns​

TODO: Explain communication patterns (spec.md line 1271)

  • Topics (sensor streams)
  • Services (parameter queries)
  • Actions (long-running tasks)

Mermaid Diagram TODO: Create Communication Pattern diagram (spec.md line 1298)

TODO: Topics, services, actions with example use cases

Example TODO: Add interface example (spec.md line 1280)

Fault Tolerance Mechanisms​

TODO: Explain fault tolerance (spec.md line 1272)

  • Watchdogs
  • Heartbeats
  • Recovery behaviors

Mermaid Diagram TODO: Create Fault Tolerance diagram (spec.md line 1299)

TODO: Watchdog timers, heartbeat monitors, recovery behaviors

Scalability and Distributed Systems​

TODO: Explain scalability (spec.md line 1273)

  • Distributed nodes
  • Multi-robot coordination

Trade-off Analysis TODO: Add centralized vs. distributed comparison (spec.md line 1281)

Security for ROS 2 Systems​

TODO: Explain security considerations (spec.md line 1274)

  • Authentication
  • Encryption
  • Access control

Modularity and Interface Design​

TODO: Explain modularity principles (spec.md line 1275)

  • Decoupled components
  • Well-defined interfaces

Documenting Architecture Decisions (ADRs)​

TODO: Explain ADR importance (spec.md line 1265)

Practice Tasks​

Complete these exercises to master system architecture design:

Task 1: Design System Architecture​

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Task 2: Document Interfaces​

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Task 3: Create Architecture Diagram​

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Task 4: Identify Trade-Offs​

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Summary​

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  • System architecture component interaction
  • Layered architecture separation
  • ROS 2 communication patterns
  • Fault tolerance mechanisms
  • Scalability requirements
  • Architecture decision documentation

References​

Next Chapter: Chapter 15: Sim-to-Real Transfer - Learn strategies for deploying simulated systems to real hardware.