Towards cloud-based architectures for robotic applications provisioning

Robotic applications are widely used in various domains (e.g. healthcare, agriculture). However, provisioning them in a cost-efficient manner remains an uphill task. Cloud computing is a new paradigm with three key facets: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). Rapid application development/deployment, pay-per-use and efficient use of resources are among the expected benefits. Cloud computing is a promising technology for application provisioning and can bring robotic application provisioning to the next level. This paper identifies the shortcomings of the state of the art in cloud-based architectures for robotic applications provisioning. It sketches an overall business model to tackle the identified shortcomings. It proposes an overlay-based architecture to handle the cloud interactions aspects of the proposed business model. The implementation aspects of the overlay-based architecture are discussed. Research directions are also identified.