Timed Main Control Loop

[shihaocao]

Problem:

• Sensors and estimators must expect to get updates at a fixed time step

On This Ticket:

• The Main Control Loop MUST be locked into a given control cycle, given from the config file:

• Create a ControlTask, called TimerEnforcer:

• Create a statefield called: 'end_of_last_cycle', with default value: time.time() at default time.

• Let's create a statefield called: 'target_control_cycle_duration', with value 100 by default.

• In the body of TimerEnforcer, create logic that says:
  end_of_last = sfr.get('end_of_last_cycle')
  target_duration = sfr.get('target_control_cycle_duration)
  while "now" - end_of_last < target_duration:
  time.sleep(0.001)

This is so that the TimerEnforcer will sleep for as long as it needs to for the entire MainControlLoop to take exactly "target_control_cycle_duration" time.

[shihaocao]

Say the config file specifies the control cycle duration to be 100ms. We should sleep if the executed main control loop so far has not yet hit 100ms.

[shihaocao]

Once the feature works, create a TestInstance to verify that we are hitting the target control cycle time.

[ezh20]

[ezh20]

need to delete some useless code then done