Self-reconfiguration with Unit-Compressible Modules

这项拟议工作的愿景是通过使用自我重新配置来创造更多功能的机器人：数百个小模块将自动组织和重组为几何结构，以最适合机器人必须移动的地形、机器人必须操纵的对象的形状或给定任务的传感需求。为了创建灵活、健壮和自主的机器人系统，能够应用于这种应用，本研究的一个基本目标是发展一个自我重构机器人的科学基础。这是一个相当大的挑战，我们建议通过(1)可重构系统的新设计和(2)能够赋予自主可重构能力的算法规划和控制的新想法来应对。这种可重构的机器人科学将极大地提高分布式机器人系统的自主能力。更具体地说，这项工作的主要目标是发展一种通用的自重构算法理论，重点是(1)建立自重构的理论基础；(2)开发用于自重构规划的集中式和分布式算法；(3)开发利用自重构并保持结构动态稳定性的运动算法；(4)开发自重构规划在自修复中的应用。此外，我们计划开发实验，在我们实验室设计的名为Crystal Robot的特定自我重构机器人上测试这些算法。这些实验将集中在一般的自我重构及其在多功能运动和自我修复方面的应用。

The vision of this proposed work is to create more versatile robots by using self-reconfiguration: hundreds of small modules will autonomously organize and reorganize as geometric structures to best fit the terrain on which the robot has to move, the shape the object the robot has to manipulate, or the sensing needs for the given task. To create flexible, robust, and autonomous robotic systems capable of such applications, a fundamental goal of this research is to develop a science-base for self-reconfiguring robotics. This is a considerable challenge, which we propose to meet through (1) new designs for reconfigurable systems and (2) new ideas on algorithmic planning and control that can confer autonomous reconfigurability. This kind of reconfigurable robotics science will greatly enhance the autonomous capabilities of distributed robot systems.More specifically, the main goal for this proposed work is to develop a general algorithmic theory for self-reconfiguration, focused on (1) developing a theoretical basis for self-reconfiguration; (2)developing centralized and distributed algorithms for self-reconfiguration planning; (3) developing locomotion algorithms that use self-reconfiguration and maintain the dynamic stability of the structure; and (4) developing applications of self-reconfiguration planning to self-repair. In addition, we plan to develop experiments to test these algorithms on a specific self-reconfiguring robot designed in our lab called The Crystal Robot. The experiments will be focused on general self-reconfiguration and its applications toversatile locomotion and self-repair.