A Four-Tier Communication Architecture and Sim-to-Real Validation of a Graphical Open-Source Platform for Robotic Engineering Education

2026-05-30

AI Summary

This work addresses the challenges of scaling robotic education in higher education, where high costs of commercial digital twins and the steep learning curve of open-source middleware like ROS hinder widespread adoption. To overcome these barriers, the authors propose an education-oriented, four-layer extensible communication architecture that abstracts complex communication protocols and enables seamless integration between graphical modeling environments and physical robots. Notably, this architecture is the first in an open-source platform to support hardware-agnostic, high-fidelity virtual–physical mapping. By integrating 3D visual modeling, a ROS backend, and efficient data serialization and routing mechanisms, the system significantly reduces deployment complexity. Experimental validation through multi-axis spatial trajectory tasks demonstrates its effectiveness in facilitating practical robotics instruction in engineering education.

Abstract

The persistent challenge in scaling authentic manipulator education within university laboratories is a structural dichotomy: commercial digital twins are often cost-prohibitive and rigidly scripted, whereas open-source robotics middleware (ROS) imposes steep technical and syntax barriers for novices. To resolve this logistical and educational friction, this Work-in-Progress (WiP) paper proposes a scalable four-tier communication architecture tailored for sustainable robotic curricula. Rather than focusing on software application design, our study examines the underlying data exchange mechanisms required to bridge visual conceptual environments with physical robotic endpoints, utilizing the Graphical Open-Source Platform (GOSP) as a foundational instantiation. This WiP details the framework's technical integration of 3D visual armature modeling with a robust ROS middleware backend, emphasizing the serialization, routing, and encapsulation of intricate communication routines. Preliminary sim-to-real validation using multi-axis spatial trajectories confirms that encapsulating these communication pipelines provides a sufficient fidelity hardware-agnostic pathway. By bridging virtual design and physical execution, this architectural blueprint offers a viable infrastructure for engineering education.

Problem

• robotic education
• digital twin
• ROS
• scalability
• novice accessibility

Innovation

• four-tier communication architecture
• sim-to-real validation
• graphical open-source platform
• ROS middleware integration
• hardware-agnostic robotic education