Concepts

Resource

A Resource in BellRMF represents any real-world asset that robots must coordinate access to in order to complete their missions. Resources are typically shared and constrained — meaning only a limited number of robots (usually one) can use them at a time. Common resource types include:

Doors

Automated swing doors, sliding doors, or gantries that can be remotely controlled over a Cloud API. Robots must request access to open or pass through them.

Lifts

Smart elevators that can be summoned and directed using a Cloud API. Robots may request exclusive use of a lift for a specific floor-to-floor transition.

Paths

Corridors, junctions, or any bounded section of floor space that only one robot can occupy at a time. Paths are defined globally on the building floor plan and are treated as discrete, reservable segments. A robot’s full mission may involve reserving a sequence of paths.

Resource Reservation

Buildings often have shared spaces that must be coordinated across multiple robots. Before occupying a resource like a lift, door, or path, a robot must reserve it through BellRMF — much like guests reserving tables at a restaurant. If a resource is already in use, the requesting robot is queued and granted access once it becomes available.

Resource Chaining

Resource chaining allows robots to reserve multiple related resources in a single operation. For example, a robot may need to pass through several hallways and doors to get from point A to point B. Instead of reserving each one sequentially — which risks mid-mission blocking — BellRMF allows chaining them together for atomic and optimized allocation. This is similar to a restaurant guest reserving multiple tables at once for a family dinner.