Topological representation and analysis method for multi-port and multi-orientation docking modular robots

For MSR Robots to successfully configure from one configuration into another, the control system must be able to visualize the current structure of the robot, which cannot be done without appropriate information about each module's docking status. Although the type of information required to visualize the structure of a MSR robot differs with the physical design of the modules, there are essential information that are commonly required, such as docking orientation and identity of neighboring modules. This paper presents a novel multi-port and multi-orientation modular robot, and a representation method that can uniquely represent the geometric structure of a group of connected modules and to analyze the number of "reconfigurable DOF" within the structure. The proposed method uses labeled planar graphs and incidence matrices to describe the docking status of the modules within the structure, which helps to effectively encode the data in computer understandable expressions. In addition to the work in configuration analysis, an innovative mechanism for detecting the orientation of each docking port is also presented.published_or_final_versio

A distributed algorithm for 2D shape duplication with smart pebble robots

We present our digital fabrication technique for manufacturing active objects in 2D from a collection of smart particles. Given a passive model of the object to be formed, we envision submerging this original in a vat of smart particles, executing the new shape duplication algorithm described in this paper, and then brushing aside any extra modules to reveal both the original object and an exact copy, side-by-side. Extensions to the duplication algorithm can be used to create a magnified version of the original or multiple copies of the model object. Our novel duplication algorithm uses a distributed approach to identify the geometric specification of the object being duplicated and then forms the duplicate from spare modules in the vicinity of the original. This paper details the duplication algorithm and the features that make it robust to (1) an imperfect packing of the modules around the original object; (2) missing communication links between neighboring modules; and (3) missing modules in the vicinity of the duplicate object(s). We show that the algorithm requires O(1) storage space per module and that the algorithm exchanges O(n) messages per module. Finally, we present experimental results from 60 hardware trials and 150 simulations. These experiments demonstrate the algorithm working correctly and reliably despite broken communication links and missing modules.United States. Army Research Office (Grant W911NF-08-1-0228)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Office of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (Grant 0735953)American Society for Engineering Education. National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowshi

High-Level Control Of Modular Robots

Reconfigurable modular robots can exhibit different specializations by rearranging the same set of parts comprising them. Actuating modular robots can be complicated because of the many degrees of freedom that scale exponentially with the size of the robot. Effectively controlling these robots directly relates to how well they can be used to complete meaningful tasks. This paper discusses an approach for creating provably correct controllers for modular robots from high-level tasks defined with structured English sentences. While this has been demonstrated with simple mobile robots, the problem was enriched by considering the uniqueness of reconfigurable modular robots. These requirements are expressed through traits in the high-level task specification that store information about the geometry and motion types of a robot. Given a high-level problem definition for a modular robot, the approach in this paper deals with generating all lower levels of control needed to solve it. Information about different robot characteristics is stored in a library, and two tools for populating this library have been developed. The first approach is a physics-based simulator and gait creator for manual generation of motion gaits. The second is a genetic algorithm framework that uses traits to evaluate performance under various metrics. Demonstration is done through simulation and with the CKBot hardware platform

Heterogeneous Self-Reconfiguring Robotics: Ph.D. Thesis Proposal

Self-reconfiguring robots are modular systems that can change shape, or reconfigure, to match structure to task. They comprise many small, discrete, often identical modules that connect together and that are minimally actuated. Global shape transformation is achieved by composing local motions. Systems with a single module type, known as homogeneous systems, gain fault tolerance, robustness and low production cost from module interchangeability. However, we are interested in heterogeneous systems, which include multiple types of modules such as those with sensors, batteries or wheels. We believe that heterogeneous systems offer the same benefits as homogeneous systems with the added ability to match not only structure to task, but also capability to task. Although significant results have been achieved in understanding homogeneous systems, research in heterogeneous systems is challenging as key algorithmic issues remain unexplored. We propose in this thesis to investigate questions in four main areas: 1) how to classify heterogeneous systems, 2) how to develop efficient heterogeneous reconfiguration algorithms with desired characteristics, 3) how to characterize the complexity of key algorithmic problems, and 4) how to apply these heterogeneous algorithms to perform useful new tasks in simulation and in the physical world. Our goal is to develop an algorithmic basis for heterogeneous systems. This has theoretical significance in that it addresses a major open problem in the field, and practical significance in providing self-reconfiguring robots with increased capabilities

Novos métodos para enumeração de configurações não isomorfas de robôs metamórficos com módulos quadrados

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia Mecânica, Florianópolis, 2013Robôs metamórficos ou robôs modulares reconfiguráveis são robôs constituídos de módulos autônomos e capazes de se conectar a outros módulos. Desta forma, o conjunto de módulos pode assumir novas configurações e funções. Além disto, o crescente interesse neste tipo de robôs deve-se justamente à capacidade de autoconfiguração, pois esta característica confere aos robôs adaptabilidade a novas circunstâncias e tarefas, bem como a capacidade de recuperação de falhas mecânicas. Assim, visto que é a capacidade de assumir diferentes configurações que torna estes robôs versáteis, para que se possam aproveitar todas as potencialidades dos robôs metamórficos, é necessário que se conheçam todas as diversas configurações que um dado número de módulos pode assumir. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho foca-se no problema de enumeração de configurações para robôs metamórficos de módulos quadrados, mais especificamente, no problema de enumeração de configurações distintas ou não isomorfas. Nele, são introduzidos dois novos métodos, que são contribuições originais, para enumeração de configurações distintas para robôs de módulos quadrados. O primeiro método é denominado Método das Simetrias e baseia-se em ferramentas de teoria dos grupos. Por outro lado, o segundo método, denominado Método das Órbitas, baseia-se em ferramentas de teoria dos grupos e de teoria dos grafos. Além disto, ambos os métodos foram implementados em C++ , o que possibilitou a enumeração, para um total de onze módulos, de todas as configurações distintas para robôs de módulos quadrados, bem como outros resultados que são apresentados no trabalho. Estes resultados constituem um avanço frente a literatura existente na área <br

Heterogeneous Self-Reconfiguring Robotics

Self-reconfiguring (SR) robots are modular systems that can autonomously change shape, or reconfigure, for increased versatility and adaptability in unknown environments. In this thesis, we investigate planning and control for systems of non-identical modules, known as heterogeneous SR robots. Although previous approaches rely on module homogeneity as a critical property, we show that the planning complexity of fundamental algorithmic problems in the heterogeneous case is equivalent to that of systems with identical modules. Primarily, we study the problem of how to plan shape changes while considering the placement of specific modules within the structure. We characterize this key challenge in terms of the amount of free space available to the robot and develop a series of decentralized reconfiguration planning algorithms that assume progressively more severe free space constraints and support reconfiguration among obstacles. In addition, we compose our basic planning techniques in different ways to address problems in the related task domains of positioning modules according to function, locomotion among obstacles, self-repair, and recognizing the achievement of distributed goal-states. We also describe the design of a novel simulation environment, implementation results using this simulator, and experimental results in hardware using a planar SR system called the Crystal Robot. These results encourage development of heterogeneous systems. Our algorithms enhance the versatility and adaptability of SR robots by enabling them to use functionally specialized components to match capability, in addition to shape, to the task at hand

Motion planning for self-reconfiguring robotic systems

Robots that can actively change morphology offer many advantages over fixed shape, or monolithic, robots: flexibility, increased maneuverability and modularity. So called self-reconfiguring systems (SRS) are endowed with a shape changing ability enabled by an active connection mechanism. This mechanism allows a mechanical link to be engaged or disengaged between two neighboring robotic subunits. Through utilization of embedded joints to change the geometry plus the connection mechanism to change the topology of the kinematics, a collection of robotic subunits can drastically alter the overall kinematics. Thus, an SRS is a large robot comprised of many small cooperating robots that is able to change its morphology on demand. By design, such a system has many and variable degrees of freedom (DOF). To gain the benefits of self-reconfiguration, the process of morphological change needs to be controlled in response to the environment. This is a motion planning problem in a high dimensional configuration space. This problem is complex because each subunit only has a few internal DOFs, and each subunit's range of motion depends on the state of its connected neighbors. Together with the high dimensionality, the problem may initially appear to be intractable, because as the number of subunits grow, the state space expands combinatorially. However, there is hope. If individual robotic subunits are identical, then there will exist some form of regularity in the resulting state space of the conglomerate. If this regularity can be exploited, then there may exist tractable motion planning algorithms for self-reconfiguring system. Existing approaches in the literature have been successful in developing algorithms for specific SRSs. However, it is not possible to transfer one motion planning algorithm onto another system. SRSs share a similar form of regularity, so one might hope that a tool from mathematical literature would identify the common properties that are exploitable for motion planning. So, while there exists a number of algorithms for certain subsets of possible SRS instantiations, there is no general motion planning methodology applicable to all SRSs. In this thesis, firstly, the best existing general motion planning techniques were evaluated to the SRS motion planning problem. Greedy search, simulated annealing, rapidly exploring random trees and probabilistic roadmap planning were found not to scale well, requiring exponential computation time, as the number of subunits in the SRS increased. The planners performance was limited by the availability of a good general purpose heuristic. There does not currently exist a heuristic which can accurately guide a path through the search space toward a far away goal configuration. Secondly, it is shown that a computationally efficient reconfiguration algorithms do exist by development of an efficient motion planning algorithm for an exemplary SRS, the Claytronics formulation of the Hexagonal Metamorphic Robot (HMR). The developed algorithm was able to solve a randomly generated shape-to-shape planning task for the SRS in near linear time as the number of units in the configuration grew. Configurations containing 20,000 units were solvable in under ten seconds on modest computational hardware. The key to the success of the approach was discovering a subspace of the motion planning space that corresponded with configurations with high mobility. Plans could be discovered in this sub-space much more readily because the risk of the search entering a blind alley was greatly reduced. Thirdly, in order to extract general conclusions, the efficient subspace, and other efficient subspaces utilized in other works, are analyzed using graph theoretic methods. The high mobility is observable as an increase in the state space's Cheeger constant, which can be estimated with a local sampling procedure. Furthermore, state spaces associated with an efficient motion planning algorithm are well ordered by the graph minor relation. These qualitative observations are discoverable by machine without human intervention, and could be useful components in development of a general purpose SRS motion planner compiler

Contribuições para a enumeração e para a análise de mecanismos e manipuladores paralelos

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Mecânica, Florianópolis, 2010A fase de projeto conceitual demecanismos emanipuladores paralelos, i.e. estruturas cinematicas, destina-se ao desenvolvimento da concepçao da cadeia cinematica. As etapas fundamentais para o desenvolvimento da concepao da cadeia cinematica sao sintese e analise. A sintese corresponde à enumeraçao de concepcoes e a analise corresponde `a seleçao das concepçoes mais promissoras considerando os requisitos de projeto. O objetivo deste trabalho é aplicar ferramentas da teoria de grupos e teoria de grafos para a enumeraçao e para a analise de estruturas cinematicas. A enumeraçao sera desenvolvida de forma sistematica em tres niveis: enumeraçao de cadeias cinematicas, enumeraçao de mecanismos e enumeraçao de manipuladores paralelos. A aplicaçao de ferramentas da teoria de grafos e grupos permite desenvolver novos metodos para enumeraçao e, consequentemente, obter novos resultados. A analise sera simplificada considerando um novo metodo que avalia as simetrias das cadeias cinematicas. Uma cadeia cinematica é representada de forma univoca atraves de um grafo. A representaçao atraves do grafo permite a manipulaçao computacional do problema de enumeraçao de cadeias cinematicas. A aplicaçao de ferramentas integradas da teoria de grafos e teoria de grupos permite identificar as simetrias das cadeias cinematicas atraves do grupo de automorfismos do grafo e, assim, é possivel identificar quais são as possiveis escolhas de base para novos mecanismos e avaliar quais sao as possiveis escolhas de base e efetuador final para manipuladores paralelos. O primeiro nivel da sintese corresponde à enumeraçao de cadeias cinematicas com determinada mobilidade, numero de elos, numero de juntas que operam num determinado sistema de helicoides. O segundo nivel da sintese corresponde a enumeraçao de mecanismos. Um mecanismo é uma cadeia cinematica com um elo escolhido para ser a base. Assim, a enumeraçao de mecanismos consiste em determinar todas as possiveis escolhas de bases para uma determinada cadeia cinematica. O principal conceito empregado neste nivel é o de simetria de grafos não coloridos e orbitas do grupo de automorfismos. O terceiro nivel da sintese corresponde `a enumeraçao de manipuladores paralelos. Um manipulador paralelo é uma cadeia cinematica com um elo escolhido para ser a base e outro para ser o efetuador final. Em outras palavras, um manipulador paralelo é um mecanismo com um elo escolhido para ser o efetuador final. Assim, a enumeraçao de manipuladores paralelos consiste em determinar todas as possiveis escolhas de efetuador final para um determinado mecanismo. O principal conceito empregado neste nivel é a simetria de grafos coloridos e orbitas do grupo de automorfismos de grafos coloridos. Na etapa de analise das concepcoes enumeradas serao abordadas propriedades bem estabelecidas na literatura: mobilidade, variedade, conectividade, grau de controle, redundancia e simetria. Mobilidade e variedade sao propriedades globais das estruturas cinematicas. Conectividade, grau de controle e redundancia sao propriedades locais, i.e. entre dois elos da estrutura cinematica e sao dadas por matrizes n×n, onde n é o número de elos da cadeia. A simetria pode ser considerada uma propriedade global e/ou local da estrutura cinem´atica. A aplicaçao de ferramentas integradas da teoria de grafos e teoria de grupos permite demonstrar que as propriedades locais sao invariantes pela acao do grupo de automorfismos do grafo, i.e. elas sao propriedades simetricas. Desta forma, a representaçao matricial é reduzida de n×n para o×n, onde o é o numero de orbitas do grupo de automorfismos do grafo aassociado à estrutura cinematica. Essa abordagem permite simplificar a analise de estruturas cinematicas apenas considerando as simetrias das cadeia associadas