Emergent structures in modular self-reconfigurable robots

Bojinov, Hristo; Casal, A.; Hogg, Tad

doi:10.1109/robot.2000.844846

Cited by 94 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…A gradient or virtual hormones could be propagated instead of rule IDs. This would potentially make the morphology formation process more stochastic, thus moving towards the approaches presented in (Bojinov et al 2000;Shen et al 2004). Alternatively, the s-bots could use sensor readings to determine in which direction to open the next connection slot based on local features of the environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bojinov et al (2000) have shown how a simulated modular robot (Proteo) can selfreconfigure into useful and emergent morphologies when the individual modules use local sensing and local control rules. Some of the practical and theoretical implications of adapting the shape of a self-reconfigurable robot to its environment have been studied by Yu et al (2007) and Yu and Nagpal (2008).…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

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SWARMORPH-script: a language for arbitrary morphology generation in self-assembling robots

2008

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In certain multi-robot systems, the physical limitations of the individual robots can be overcome using self-assembly-the autonomous creation of physical connections between individual robots to form a larger composite robotic entity. However, existing robotic systems capable of self-assembly have little or no control over the morphology of the self-assembled entities. This restricts the adaptability of such systems, since robots can carry out certain tasks more efficiently if their morphology is specialized to the task. In this paper, we extend the distributed mechanism presented in (Christensen et al. in IEEE Robot. Autom. Mag. 14(4):18-25, 2007) that allows autonomous mobile robots to self-assemble into specific morphologies. We present a simple language, SWARMORPH-script, that allows for concise descriptions of the rules that govern the distributed morphology growth process. Local visual communication allows physically connected robots to send and receive strings. A string can be a rule identifier that triggers execution of predefined logic for extending a morphology. Alternatively, whole scripts can be communicated and subsequently executed on the receiving robot. On real self-propelled robots capable of self-assembly, we demonstrate how specific morphologies can be constructed, how the size of a morphology can be regulated, and how multiple morphologies can be assembled. We also show how the transmission of entire scripts gives the robots the capacity to participate in the formation of morphologies of which they had no a priori knowledge.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

SWARMORPH-script: a language for arbitrary morphology generation in self-assembling robots

2008

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“…These algorithms may be broadly categorized into gradient-based [4]- [11] and graph-grammar [12]- [15] or shape complex [16] algorithms. Early gradient-based algorithms suffered from either a lack of expressivity [6], or tended to become stuck in state-space minima [4], [5]. Later work by Støy [7]- [9] allowed for the creation of arbitrary shapes, without the danger of getting "stuck" in minima.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scalable shape sculpting via hole motion: motion planning in lattice-constrained modular robots

Rosa

Goldstein

Lee

et al.

Proceedings 2006 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2006. ICRA 2006.

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Abstract-We describe a novel shape formation algorithm for ensembles of 2-dimensional lattice-arrayed modular robots, based on the manipulation of regularly shaped voids within the lattice ("holes"). The algorithm is massively parallel and fully distributed. Constructing a goal shape requires time proportional only to the complexity of the desired target geometry. Construction of the shape by the modules requires no global communication nor broadcast floods after distribution of the target shape. Results in simulation show 97.3% shape compliance in ensembles of approximately 60,000 modules, and we believe that the algorithm will generalize to 3D and scale to handle millions of modules.

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“…Rhombic dodecahedral robots: Yim et al [19], Zhang et al [20] and Bojinov et al [1] present distributed algorithms to reconfigure rhombic dodecahedral modules. These algorithms are probabilistic and require substantial message passing between neighboring modules.…”

Section: A Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In these systems, robots achieve locomotion by moving over a substrate composed of one or more other robots. The mechanics of locomotion depend on the hardware and can include module deformation [6], [12], [13] or rigid motion [1], [7], [10], [11] [19], [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enveloping obstacles with hexagonal metamorphic robots

Walter

Tsai²,

Amato³

2003 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.03CH37422)

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Abstract-The problem addressed is the distributed reconfiguration of a metamorphic robot system composed of any number of two dimensional robots (modules). The initial configuration we consider is a straight chain of modules, while the goal configuration satisfies a simple admissibility condition. Our reconfiguration strategy depends on finding a contiguous path of cells, called a substrate path, that spans the goal configuration. Modules fill in this substrate path and then move along the path to fill in the remainder of the goal without collision or deadlock.In this paper, we address the problem of reconfiguration when a single obstacle is embedded in the goal environment. We introduce a classification for traversable surfaces which allows for coherence in defining admissibility characteristics for various objects in the hexagonal grid. We present algorithms to 1) determine if an obstacle enveloped in the goal fulfills a simple admissibility requirement, 2) include an admissible obstacle in a substrate path, and 3) accomplish distributed reconfiguration.

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Emergent structures in modular self-reconfigurable robots

Cited by 94 publications

References 15 publications

SWARMORPH-script: a language for arbitrary morphology generation in self-assembling robots

SWARMORPH-script: a language for arbitrary morphology generation in self-assembling robots

Scalable shape sculpting via hole motion: motion planning in lattice-constrained modular robots

Enveloping obstacles with hexagonal metamorphic robots

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