The present invention applies to a mobile robot which can have a human appearance and sophisticated functions enabling it to execute missions. To enable communications internal to the robot to be optimized and allow for a versatility that is both physical (possible substitution of parts of the robot) and software (replacement of programs to adapt it to new missions), an architecture with three computer levels is provided. The highest level comprises the intelligence of the robot which generates commands which are transmitted by an intermediate computer to low-level cards which control the sensors and actuators. Communication between the intermediate computer and the low-level cards is managed by at least one specific secure communication protocol.