Integrating Reactive Behavior and Planning: Optimizing Execution Time Through Predictive Preparation of State Machine Tasks

Tasks that change the physical state of a robot take a considerable amount of time to execute. However, many robot applications spend the execution time waiting, although the following tasks might require time to prepare. This paper proposes to amend tasks with a description of their expected outcomes, which allows planning successive tasks based on this information. The suggested approach allows sequential and parallel composition of tasks, as well as reactive behavior modeled as state machines. The paper describes the means of modeling and executing these tasks, details different possibilities of planning in state machine tasks, and evaluates the benefits achievable using the approach.