Self-reconfiguring modular robot: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Robot that can rearrange its own parts}}

{{See also|Modular design}}

{{more citations needed|date=February 2010}}

{{External links|date=November 2024}}

'''Modular self-reconfiguring [[robot]]icrobotic systems''' or '''self-reconfigurable modular robots''' are autonomous kinematic [[machine]]s with variable morphology. Beyond conventional actuation, sensing and control typically found in fixed-morphology robots, self-reconfiguring robots[[robot]]s are also able to deliberately change their own shape by rearranging the connectivity of their parts, in order to adapt to new circumstances, perform new tasks, or recover from damage.

For example, a robot made of such components could assume a [[worm]]-like shape to move through a narrow pipe, reassemble into something with [[spider]]-like legs to cross uneven terrain, then form a third arbitrary object (like a ball or wheel that can spin itself) to move quickly over a fairly flat terrain; it can also be used for making "fixed" objects, such as walls, shelters, or buildings.

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* '''Homogeneous''' modular robot systems have many modules of the same design forming a structure suitable to perform the required task. An advantage over other systems is that they are simple to scale in size (and possibly function), by adding more units. A commonly described disadvantage is limits to functionality - these systems often require more modules to achieve a given function, than heterogeneous systems.

* '''Heterogeneous''' modular robot systems have different modules, each of which do specialized functions, forming a structure suitable to perform a task. An advantage is compactness, and the versatility to design and add units to perform any task. A commonly described disadvantage is an increase in complexity of design, manufacturing, and simulation methods.[[File:Taxonomy_of_the_reconfigurable_robots.png|thumb|Conceptual representation for intra-, inter- and nested-reconfiguration under taxonomy of reconfigurable robots.]]

Other modular robotic systems exist which are not self-reconfigurable, and thus do not formally belong to this family of robots though they may have similar appearance. For example, [[Self-assembly|self-assembling]] systems may be composed of multiple modules but cannot dynamically control their target shape. Similarly, tensegrity robotics may be composed of multiple interchangeable modules but cannot self-reconfigure. Self-reconfigurable robotic systems feature reconfigurability compared to their fixed-morphology counterparts and it can be defined as the extent/degree to which a self-reconfigurable robot or robotic systems can transform and evolve to another meaningful configuration with a certain degree of autonomy or human intervention.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Tan|first1=Ning|last2=Hayat|first2=Abdullah Aamir|last3=Elara|first3=Mohan Rajesh|last4=Wood|first4=Kristin L.|date=2020|title=A Framework for Taxonomy and Evaluation of Self-Reconfigurable Robotic Systems|journal=IEEE Access|volume=8|pages=13969–13986|doi=10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2965327|issn=2169-3536|doi-access=free|bibcode=2020IEEEA...813969T }} {{CC-notice|cc=by4|url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8954702}}

</ref> The reconfigurable system can also be classified according to the mechanism reconfigurability.

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==Application areas==

Given these advantages, where would a modular self-reconfigurable system be used? While the system has the promise of being capable of doing a wide variety of things, finding the "[[killer application]]" has been somewhat elusive. Here are several examples:

===Space exploration===

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===Bucket of stuff===

A third long-term vision for these systems has been called "bucket of stuff", which would be a container filled with modular robots that can accept user commands and adopt an appropriate form in order to complete household chores.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Feczko |first1=Jacek |last2=Manka |first2=Michal |last3=Krol |first3=Pawel |last4=Giergiel |first4=Mariusz |last5=Uhl |first5=Tadeusz |last6=Pietrzyk |first6=Andrzej |title=2015 10th International Workshop on Robot Motion and Control (RoMoCo) |chapter=Review of the modular self reconfigurable robotic systems |date=July 2015 |pages=182–187 |doi=10.1109/RoMoCo.2015.7219733|isbn=978-1-4799-7043-8 |s2cid=34234072 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mackenzie |first1=Dana |last2=Manka |first2=Michal |last3=Krol |first3=Pawel |last4=Giergiel |first4=Mariusz |last5=Uhl |first5=Tadeusz |last6=Pietrzyk |first6=Andrzej |title=Shape Shifters Tread a Daunting Path Toward Reality |journal=Science |date=8 August 2003 |volume=301 |issue=5634 |pages=754–756 |doi=10.1126/science.301.5634.754|pmid=12907773 |s2cid=28194165 }}</ref>

A third long-term vision for these systems has been called "bucket of stuff". In this vision, consumers of the future have a container of self-reconfigurable modules say in their garage, basement, or attic. When the need arises, the consumer calls forth the robots to achieve a task such as "clean the gutters" or "change the oil in the car" and the robot assumes the shape needed and does the task.

== History and state of the art ==

The roots of the concept of modular self-reconfigurable robots can be traced back to the "quick change" end effector and automatic tool changers in computer numerical controlled machining centers in the 1970s. Here, special modules each with a common connection mechanism could be automatically swapped out on the end of a robotic arm. However, taking the basic concept of the common connection mechanism and applying it to the whole robot was introduced by Toshio Fukuda with the CEBOT (short for cellular robot) in the late 1980s.

The early 1990s saw further development from Greg[[Gregory S. Chirikjian]], Mark Yim, Joseph Michael, and Satoshi Murata. Chirikjian, Michael, and Murata developed lattice reconfiguration systems and Yim developed a chain based system. While these researchers started with a mechanical engineering emphasis, designing and building modules then developing code to program them, the work of Daniela Rus and Wei-min Shen developed hardware but had a greater impact on the programming aspects. They started a trend towards provable or verifiable distributed algorithms for the control of large numbers of modules.

One of the more interesting hardware platforms recently has been the MTRAN II and III systems developed by Satoshi Murata et al. This system is a hybrid chain and lattice system. It has the advantage of being able to achieve tasks more easily like chain systems, yet reconfigure like a lattice system.

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| Fractal Robots

| Lattice, 3D

| Michael (UK) <ref>[https://patents.google.com/patent/US20030097203A1/en Programmable materials]. Joseph Michael. UK Patent GB2287045B Granted 1997-05-14. </ref> <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040520140407/http://www.fractal-robots.com/ Fractal robots] Archived from the [http://www.fractal-robots.com/ original]</ref>

| 1994

|-

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|-

|-

|Panthera <ref>{{Cite journalbook|last1=Hayat|first1=A. A.|last2=Parween|first2=R.|last3=Elara|first3=M. R.|last4=Parsuraman|first4=K.|last5=Kandasamy|first5=P. S.|datetitle=May 2019 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) |titlechapter=Panthera: Design of a Reconfigurable Pavement Sweeping Robot |journaldate=2019May International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)2019|pages=7346–7352|doi=10.1109/ICRA.2019.8794268|isbn=978-1-5386-6027-0|s2cid=199541251}}</ref>

|Mobile, 1D

|Elara, Prathap, Hayat, Parween (SUTD, Singapore)

|2019

|-

| [https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9738480 Soft Lattice Modules]

| Lattice, Soft Modular 3D

| Zhao et al., (Dartmouth)

| 2022

|-

| [https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10146508 StarBlocks]

| Hybrid, Deformable 3D

| Zhao et al., (Dartmouth)

| 2023

|-

|AuxBots <ref>Lillian Chin; Max Burns; Gregory Xie; Daniela Rus. "[https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9976216 Flipper-Style Locomotion Through Strong Expanding Modular Robots]" in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters ( Volume: 8, Issue: 2, Page(s): 528 - 535, February 2023)</ref>

|Chain, 3D

|Chin, Burns, Xie, Rus (MIT, USA)

|2023

|-

| [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60982-0 Tensegrity-Blocks]

| Hybrid, Tensegrity Modular 3D

| Zhao, Jiang, Chen, Bekris, Balkcom, (Dartmouth)

| 2025

|-

|}

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;AMOEBA-I (2005)

AMOEBA-I, a three-module reconfigurable mobile robot was developed in Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) by Liu J G et al.[httphttps://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=1708645][https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11432-007-0068-8].AMOEBA-I has nine kinds of non-isomorphic configurations and high mobility under unstructured environments. Four generations of its platform have been developed and a series of researches have been carried out on their reconfiguration mechanism, non-isomorphic configurations, tipover stability, and reconfiguration planning. Experiments have demonstrated that such kind structure permits good mobility and high flexibility to uneven terrain. Being hyper-redundant, modularized and reconfigurable, AMOEBA-I has many possible applications such as Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) and space exploration.

Ref_1: see [httphttps://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=1708645];

Ref_2: see [https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11432-007-0068-8]

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Three large scale prototypes were built in attempt to demonstrate dynamically programmable three-dimensional stochastic reconfiguration in a neutral-buoyancy environment. The first prototype used electromagnets for module reconfiguration and interconnection. The modules were 100&nbsp;mm cubes and weighed 0.81&nbsp;kg. The second prototype used stochastic fluidic reconfiguration and interconnection mechanism. Its 130&nbsp;mm cubic modules weighed 1.78&nbsp;kg each and made reconfiguration experiments excessively slow. The current third implementation inherits the fluidic reconfiguration principle. The lattice grid size is 80&nbsp;mm, and the reconfiguration experiments are under way.<ref>

[httphttps://creativemachines.cornell.edu/ the Cornell Creative Machines Lab (CCSL)]

[httphttps://creativemachines.cornell.edu/stochastic_modular_robotics Stochastic Modular Robotics].

</ref>

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'''[[Molecubes]] (2005)'''

This hybrid self-reconfiguring system was built by the [[Cornell]] Computational Synthesis Lab to physically demonstrate artificial kinematic self-reproduction. Each module is a 0.65&nbsp;kg cube with 100&nbsp;mm long edges and one rotational degree of freedom. The axis of rotation is aligned with the cube's longest diagonal. Physical self-reproduction of both a three- and a four-module robot was demonstrated.<ref name="Zykov Mytilinaios Adams Lipson 2005 pp. 163–164">{{cite journal | lastlast1=Zykov | firstfirst1=Victor | last2=Mytilinaios | first2=Efstathios | last3=Adams | first3=Bryant | last4=Lipson | first4=Hod | title=Self-reproducing machines | journal=Nature | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=435 | issue=7039 | year=2005 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/435163a | pages=163–164| pmid=15889080 | s2cid=4362474 }}</ref> It was also shown that, disregarding the gravity constraints, an infinite number of self-reproducing chain meta-structures can be built from Molecubes. More information can be found at the [https://www.creativemachineslab.com/ Creative Machines Lab] [https://www.creativemachineslab.com/self-replication.html self-replication page].

<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[File:Klavins-programmable-parts.jpg|200px|right|Self Organizing Programmable Parts]] -->

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<!-- Add one image of your system here. Sort by date (earlier first), add reference.-->

[[File:The Distributed Flight Array.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A 10-module configuration of the Distributed Flight Array in flight.]]

'''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130602071832/http://www.idsc.ethz.ch/Research_DAndrea/DFA The Distributed Flight Array] (2009)'''

The Distributed Flight Array is a modular robot consisting of hexagonal-shaped single-rotor units that can take on just about any shape or form. Although each unit is capable of generating enough thrust to lift itself off the ground, on its own it is incapable of flight much like a helicopter cannot fly without its tail rotor. However, when joined together, these units evolve into a sophisticated multi-rotor system capable of coordinated flight and much more. More information can be found at DFA.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130602071832/http://www.idsc.ethz.ch/Research_DAndrea/DFA here]</ref>

'''Roombots (2009)'''

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===Quantitative accomplishment===

* The robot with most active modules has 56 units <polybot centipede, PARC>

* The smallest actuated modular unit has a size of 12&nbsp;mm<ref>{{cite web|title=Smart sand and robot pebbles|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okciiW26A6c|publisher=MIT |date=April 2, 2012}}<!-- original URL http://video.mit.edu/watch/smart-sand-a-robot-pebbles-10664/|publisher= was redirecting to MIT}} Youtube page--></ref>

* The largest actuated modular unit (by volume) has the size of 8 m^3 <(GHFC)giant helium filled catoms, CMU>

* The strongest actuation modules are able to lift 5 identical horizontally cantilevered units.<PolyBot g1v5, PARC>

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{{wikibooks|Robotics: Exotic Robots: Modular and fractal Robots}}

* [https://freeformrobotics.org/ "Freeform Robotics"]. Freeform Robotics Research Group.

* {{cite web

|* title{{cite =web |title=Distributed Robotics Laboratory |work=Distributed Robotics Lab at MIT |url=http://groups.csail.mit.edu/drl/wiki/index.php/Main_Page}}

| work = Distributed Robotics Lab at MIT

| url = http://groups.csail.mit.edu/drl/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

}}

* {{cite web

|title = Modular Robots at PARC

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[[Category:Robot architectures]]

[[Category:Emerging technologies]]

[[Category:Modular design]]