Self Reconfiguring Modular Robot

VIJAY N1St10EC426

Sambhram Institute of Technology

Contents

•Introduction•Structure•History•Application areas•Advantages and Disadvantages•Future •Conclusion•References

Introduction• Modular self-

reconfiguring robotic systems or self-reconfigurable modular robots are autonomous kinematic machines with variable morphology, structure, and functionality.

• This is achieved through individual modules which can disconnect and reconnect to each other and assemble into a larger robot.

Structure• Modular robots are usually composed of multiple

building blocks of a relatively small repertoire, with uniform docking interfaces that allow transfer of mechanical forces and moments, electrical power and communication throughout the robot.

• The modular building blocks usually consist of some primary structural actuated unit, and potentially additional specialized units such as grippers, feet, wheels, cameras, payload and energy storage and generation.

Structural Architecture

•Modular self-reconfiguring robotic systems can be generally classified into several architectural groups by the geometric arrangement of their unit.

▫Lattice architecture.▫Chain architecture.

Lattice Architecture

• This architecture have their units connecting their docking interfaces at points into virtual cells of some regular grid.

Chain Architecture•This architecture does not use a virtual

network of docking points for their units. The units are able to reach any point in the space directly.

History

•The roots of the concept of modular self-reconfigurable robots came in 1970’s, but the actual first model was created during 1980’s(CEBOT).

•However, the revolution in this field happened from past 2, 3 years.

M-TRAN III (2005)

•A hybrid type self-reconfigurable system. Each module is two cube size (65 mm side), and has 2 rotational DOF and 6 flat surfaces for connection.

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.

Moteins (2011)

•Moteins employ shape-universal folding strategies, with one or two degrees of freedom and simple actuators with only two or three states.

Application Areas

•Space exploration•Telepario•Bucket of stuff

Space Exploration

Telepario

•What the researchers propose to make are moving, physical, three-dimensional replicas of people or objects, so lifelike that human senses would accept them as real.

Bucket of Stuff• In this vision, consumers of the future have a container of self-reconfigurable modules, when the need arises, the consumer calls forth the robots to achieve a task.

Advantages and Disadvantages

•Advantages

Economic advantage : Self reconfiguring robotic systems can potentially lower overall robot cost by making a range of complex machines out of a single (or relatively few) types of mass-produced modules.

▫Functional advantage : The reconfiguration ability allows a robot or a group of robots to disassemble and reassemble machines to form new morphologies that are better suitable for new tasks, such as changing from a legged robot to a snake robot and then to a rolling robot.

Disadvantages•A modular robot is likely to be inferior in

performance to any single custom robot tailored for a specific task.

•The added degrees of freedom make modular robots more versatile in their potential capabilities, but also incur a performance tradeoff and increased mechanical and computational complexities.

Future Developments

References

• Self-Reconfigurable Robot: Shape-Changing Cellular Robots Can Exceed Conventional Robot Flexibility, by Murata & Kurokawa.

• Self Reconfiguring Modular Robotics Essentials, Popular science Introduction to SRCMR fundamentals

and some of the profound consequences it will have.

• ^ "Modular Reconfigurable Robots in Space Applications” (http://www2.parc.com/spl/projects/modrobots/publications/pdf/space.pdf) (PDF).

Conclusion

•Self reconfigurable modular robot are kind of miniaturized robots which all together can group-up and form a bigger and better robot for any desired application.

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