Self-Reconfigurable Robots

Abstract

A distributed reconfigurable micro-robotic system is a collection of unlimited numbers of distributed small, homogeneous robots designed to autonomously organize and reorganize in order to achieve mission-specified geometric shapes and functions. This project investigated the design, control, and planning issues for self-configuring and selforganizing robots. In the 2D space a system consisting of two robots was prototyped and successfully displayed automatic docking/undocking to operate dependently or independently. Additional modules were constructed to display the usefulness of a selfconfiguring system in various situations. In 3D a self-reconfiguring robot system of 4 identical modules was built. Each module connects to its neighbors using rotating actuators. An individual component can move in three dimensions on its neighbors. We have also built a self-reconfiguring robot system consisting of 9-module Crystalline Robot. Each module in this robot is actuated by expansion/contraction. The system is fully distributed, has local communication (to neighbors) capabilities and it has global sensing capabilities.

Otolaryngologic Manifestations of Klippel-Feil Syndrome in Children

“…30 Subsequent studies similarly documented hearing loss in approximately onethird of patients with KFS. 31,32 In the most comprehensive series reported to date, 22 35 of 44 patients (80%) had some form of hearing loss on audiologic testing. Sensorineural loss was the most common, affecting 15 patients (43%), followed by mixed hearing loss in 10 patients (23%), and conductive hearing loss in 7 patients (16%).…”

A Mobile Self-Reconfigurable Microrobot with Power and Communication Relays

“…Autonomous docking is an essential capability for self-reconfigurable robots. There are various methods for measuring their relative position/orientation, such as infrared (Fukuda, T. & Nakagawa, S., 1998; Yim, M., et al, 2002; Rubenstein, M., et al, 2004), ultrasonic (Hensinger, D. M., et al, 2002; Wang, W., et al, 2010) or microcamera (Bererton, C. & Khosla, P. K., 2001; Gross, R., et al, 2006; Murata, S., et al, 2007; Zhong M., et al, 2008). As both ultrasonic and microcamera have high power consumption and complicated driving circuit, they are not suitable for microrobot.…”

“…This kind of robot can change their own shape by reorganizing connectivity of their parts in order to enhance mobility, adapt to new circumstances, perform new tasks cooperatively, or recover from damage. According to the geometric arrangement of their units, this kind of robots generally can be classified into three categories, including lattice-type (Ostergaard, E. H., et al, 2006; Zykov, V., et al, 2007), chain-type (Yim, M., et al, 2002; Castano, A., et al, 2002) and mobile-type (Fukuda, T. & Nakagawa, S., 1998; Hirose, S., et al, 2000; Bererton, C. & Khosla, P. K., 2001; Brown, H. B., et al, 2002; Hensinger, D. M., et al, 2002; Gross, R., et al, 2006; Zhong M., et al, 2008; Wang, W., et al, 2010). Among the three types above, it is easier for lattice-type and chain-type to realize self-reconfiguration because of their indivisible whole structure, but they can not carry out tasks alone for lack of mobility.…”

Microwave Chip-Based Beam Splitter for Low-Energy Guided Electrons

“…Based on a similar technology, surfaceelectrode ion traps have been employed to provide finely structured potential landscapes. For example, junctions for trapped ions have been realized [16][17][18][19][20][21], or doublewell potentials with small distances between the potential minima to couple separately trapped ions via the Coulomb force [22,23]. In this letter we show the concept and the experimental demonstration of a new beam splitter for guided electrons with kinetic energies in the electron-volt range.…”