RePoSt: Distributed Self-Reconfiguration Algorithm for Modular Robots Based on Porous Structure

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new selfreconfiguration scheme for modular robots based on a metamodule design that allows to form a 3D porous structure. The porous structure enables a parallel flow of modules inside it without blocking. The meta-module can also be used to fill its internal volume with an additional number of modules allowing the structure to be compressible and expandable. Hence, it is a potential for improving the self-reconfiguration process. We first present the meta-module model and the porous structure built using it. Then, we describe an algorithm to self-reconfigure the structure from an initial shape to a given goal shape.We evaluated the algorithm in simulation on structures composed of up to 2,700 modules. We studied the performance in term of parallelism, showed that the number of communications is proportional to the number of motions and the execution time varies linearly with the diameter of the configuration.

ASAPs: Asynchronous Hybrid Self-Reconfiguration Algorithm for Porous Modular Robotic Structures

“…In this section we describe the anatomy of the porous structure first proposed in [2] on which we apply our self-reconfiguration algorithm. The porous structure is made up of hexagonal shaped meta-modules formed with 10 3D Catoms placed in a face-centered cubic lattice.…”

“…The meta-module design presented in [2] allows it to be filled in its internal volume with 10 additional modules, that is, the size of another meta-module, giving the structure the ability to expand or compress by a factor of 2. Therefore, the size of the goal configuration can differ from the size of the initial configuration.…”

“…Sequences of movements for each operation are predefined and stored in each robot memory. The number of movements and memory for each operation is shown in [3]. In total, 2,24 kB of memory is needed [3].…”

“…The number of movements and memory for each operation is shown in [3]. In total, 2,24 kB of memory is needed [3]. A special module is designated in a meta-module to serve as an operation coordinator (OPC) to indicate the sequence of movements that a module must perform for the current operation.…”

“…In [2] we proposed to use a porous structure composed of meta-modules as a scaffold that can then be coated to better represent the goal shape. The meta-modules groups quasi-spherical robotic modules called 3D Catoms that move by rolling on their neighbors.…”