FreeBOT: A Freeform Modular Self-reconfigurable Robot with Arbitrary Connection Point - Design and Implementation

PuzzleBots: Physical Coupling of Robot Swarms

“…Since the connection is not detachable, the flexibility of this group of robots is limited to a single connected component, and they are not resilient to module failures during execution. The other group includes the ATRON [8], M-TRAN III [9], SlimeBot [22], Lily [7], M-blocks [18], SMORES [23], FreeBot [11], and Swarm-bot [6] in which robotic modules can couple and decouple during execution. The Lily robots rely on external actuation from the fluid to connect with each other.…”

“…However, if the modules are misaligned, it can only support the weight of one module. Electromagnetic connections may also consumes high power [11] with high loads. Permanent magnets do not consumer power, but will require additional power when separating the magnets.…”

Scale invariant robot behavior with fractals

“…A cubic grid was assumed because the simulator we used was voxel-based. However, fractals formed using using spherical modules [19,34] and spherical coordinates (Mandelbulbs) may be better suited for forms and functions that depend on radial symmetries.…”

“…The basal robot (pictured in step 19) was designed in simulation by combining up to 27 voxels inside a 3-by-3-by-3 workspace (steps 1-18). The same steps were repeated using the basal robot instead of a single voxel (steps [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] to create a self similar aggregate machine. Note that the voxels only exist in simulation as design tools; there are no physical voxels; a custom mold is made according to the basal robot's shape (Fig.…”

“…The basal robot (pictured in step 19) is designed in simulation by combining up to 27 voxels inside a 3-by-3-by-3 workspace (steps [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. The same steps are repeated using the basal robot instead of a single voxel (steps [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] to create a fractal assemblage. The physical robot fabricated according to these instructions can be seen, flipped right side up, in Fig.…”