Patent ID: 8473202

Claim:
A control system comprising: a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system, said general purpose computer including a program execution module configured to selectively start and stop processing of the at least one program of instructions for mechanisms having: at least one mechanical joint; a mechanical actuator to move the at least one mechanical joint; and a position feedback sensor; a real-time computer subsystem configured to be in electronic communication with said general purpose computer and configured to link to the mechanical actuator and the position feedback sensor; a move command data buffer configured to store a plurality of move commands; a mechanism move module configured to: link to said move command data buffer; sequentially process said plurality of move commands; and calculate a target position for the at least one mechanical joint; and a control algorithm component configured to communicate with said mechanism move module to calculate an activation signal; the activation signal calculated from a position signal and said target position for the at least one mechanical joint, the activation signal configured to actuate the mechanical actuator.