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The intelligent space (iSpace) is a representative extensive environmental system. In the iSpace, various Distributed Intelligent Networked Devices (DINDs) are installed for the provision of useful services. Through the input device of the DIND, the iSpace recognizes a spatial situation and user's demands and then determines the appropriate service based on the recognized information. Physical and nonphysical services are provided by the agent robots and the output devices of the DINDs. The system is designed to increase the convenience of the user's life. However, the conventional iSpace has an unsolved problem related to a DIND's physical location, because most DINDs are fixed to the walls and ceiling, and this constrains a DIND's usable range. To solve this problem, a self-configurable iSpace, referred to as reconfigurable intelligent space (R+iSpace), and a mobile module (MoMo) for the R+iSpace are proposed in this paper. A MoMo is a type of wall climbing robot, and the DIND is mounted on the MoMo. The DIND's spatial constraint problem can be solved by rearrangement of the MoMo. MoMo has several necessary conditions that must be satisfied, and we developed three prototypes that fulfilled these requirements. This paper describes the required conditions and the mechanical structures of the prototypes of MoMo. The prototype of MoMos can move within modified walls and ceilings. Experiments to verify the mobility of the latest prototype of MoMo and effectiveness of the R+iSpace were performed. The latest prototype of MoMo is found to have a mechanical structure for the implementation of the R+iSpace that is superior to the previous versions, and the R+iSpace is found to effectively solve the DIND's spatial constraint problem.

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Intelligent environments are the extensive environmental systems that provide information and services to user via robots, displays and speaker. Interaction is realized by networks of sensors installed in the wall and ceilings of buildings. The intelligent environment R+iSpace rearranges devices in physical space, achieving consistent high performance of the environmental system. In the R+iSpace system, devices are mounted on mobile modules (MoMos), which are spatially arranged to suit a required situation. The MoMo path generation algorithm, which was proposed in previous works, did not consider the deadlock situation. Here, we propose a reactive path generation algorithm, in which MoMos sequentially generate their paths based on the positions of other MoMos. The new algorithm is implemented in six layers. Each layer determines the cost of moving to adjacent nodes based on specified criteria, and the next node device node is decided by integrating the results of all layers. The performance of new algorithm is validated in computer simulations.