1. An apparatus comprising: a control layer configured to control hardware for a robotic vehicle by indirectly exchanging information with the hardware using a first protocol; an interface layer configured to exchange the information with the hardware and the control layer using a communications medium, in which the interface layer exchanges the information with the control layer using the first protocol and exchanges the information with the hardware using a number of protocols used by the hardware; and a processor system, in which the control layer, the communications medium, and the interface layer run on the processor system.