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A new prototype of a self-reconfigurable modular robot, M-TRAN III, has been developed, with an improved fast and rigid connection mechanism. Using a distributed controller, various control modes are possible: single-master, globally synchronous control or parallel asynchronous control. Self-reconfiguration experiments using up to 24 modules were undertaken by centralized or decentralized control. Experiments using decentralized control examined a modular structure moved in a given direction as a flow produced by local self-reconfigurations. In all experiments, system homogeneity and scalability were maintained: modules used identical software except for their ID numbers. Identical self-reconfiguration was realized when different modules were used in initial configurations.

A three-dimensional, self-reconfigurable structure is proposed. The structure is a fully distributed system composed of many identical 3-D units. Each unit has functions of changing local connection, information processing, and communication among neighborhood units. Groups of units cooperate to change their connection so that the shape of the whole solid structure transforms into arbitrary shape. Also, the structure can repair itself by rejecting faulty units, replacing them with spare units. This kind of self-maintainability is essential to structure's longevity in hazardous or remote environments such as space or deep sea, where human operators cannot approach. We have designed and built a prototype unit to examine the feasibility of the 3-D self-reconfigurable concept. The design of the unit, method of reconfiguration, hardware implementation, and results of preliminary experiments are shown. In the last part of this paper, distributed software for self-reconfiguration is discussed.

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Previous work on self-reconfiguring modular robots has concentrated primarily on designing hardware and developing reconfiguration algorithms tied to specific hardware systems. In this paper, we introduce a generic model for lattice-based self-reconfigurable robots and present several generic locomotion algorithms that use this model. The algorithms presented here are inspired by cellular automata, using geometric rules to control module actions. The actuation model used is a general one, assuming only that modules can generally move over the surface of a group of modules. These algorithms can then be instantiated onto a variety of particular systems. Correctness proofs of many of the rule sets are also given for the generic geometry; this analysis can carry over to the instantiated algorithms to provide different systems with correct locomotion algorithms. We also present techniques for automated analysis that can be used for algorithms that are too complex to be easily analyzed by hand.

Abstract-We propose a self-assembly and self-repair method for a homogeneous distributed mechanical system. We focus on a category of distributed systems composed of numbers of identical units which can dynamically change connections among themselves. Each unit has an on-board microprocessor, and local communication between neighboring units is possible. In this paper, we discuss a distributed method for a group of such units to metamorphose from an arbitrary configuration into a desired configuration through cooperation by the units. This process, called self-assembly, is realized by identical software on each unit with local inter-unit communication. An extension of self-assembly, self-repair, is also examined. In this process, an occasional cut-off of an arbitrary part of the system is assumed. When some part of the system detects damage, the whole system degenerates and reconstructs itself. Computer simulations show the feasibility of self-assembly and self-repair.

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