CAREER: Programmed Robotic Self Assembly

自组装（SA）发生时，许多构建块放置在一个环境，热力学有利于他们形成结构聚集体。例如，当系统被轻轻摇动时，漂浮在液-液界面上的毫米级瓦片之间的毛细管力会产生各种形状的规则阵列。类似的现象在病毒的组装、生物体的发育、硅晶体的生长、电子学、病原体探测器、人造组织、特设无线网络和可重构机器人设备中都起着至关重要的作用。然而，大多数工程化SA的例子通常产生相当简单、规则的部件阵列。设计一个能够自我组装像病毒这样复杂而不规则的东西的系统，在理论上和技术上都远远超出了我们的能力。为了解决这一问题，PI提出了一种编程机器人自组装的理论和实践方法，即为待装配部件提供对其参与的绑定交互的主动控制。特别是，PI建议在可编程部件具有微控制器，本地传感器和机械或磁锁的试验台中实现编程机器人SA。这个想法是近似有机SA，其中分子构象（形状）的变化指导组装过程。试验台应该能够执行的一项任务是：“给定用户输入的期望装配规范，将程序下载到每个机器人部件上，以便当它们被放置在合适的环境中时，这些部件可以自行组装成期望装配的副本。”这一议程的成功将产生一类有用的机器人自组装结构，以及它们的设计和操作理论。建议的研究涉及计算机科学，动力系统和控制，机器人和嵌入式系统的理论模型。因此，需要对各个层次的学生进行跨学科的教育。为了满足这一需求，PI将开发两门新课程，关于自组织系统和规范与控制，以及跨学科合作，旨在培养精通计算机科学、机器人、控制和信息丰富的物理环境的研究生和本科生，这些领域的应用越来越多。PI意识到，并非所有学生在进入大学之前和大学期间都有相同的经历。因此，PI将与华盛顿大学工程学院的数学工程科学成就项目合作，在PI的实验室雇佣高中生实习生。此外，为了使拟议的研究和课程开发的结果向公众开放，PI建议更广泛地创建SA和机器人的交互式演示。这些材料将在网上以及PI的实验室中提供，PI和他的学生将与华盛顿大学电气工程系的K-12外展计划一起用于教育和外展

Self-assembly (SA) occurs when many building blocks are placed in an environment that thermodynamically favors their forming structured aggregates. For example, capillary forces between millimeter scale tiles floating on a liquid-liquid interface produce regular arrays of various shapes as the system is gently shaken. Similar phenomena play crucial roles in the assembly of viruses, organism development, growth of silicon crystals, electronics, pathogen detectors, artificial tissue, ad hoc wireless networks and reconfigurable robotic devices. However, most examples of engineered SA usually produce rather simple, regular arrays of parts. Engineering a system that self assembles something as complicated and irregular as, for example, a virus is well beyond our capabilities both theoretically and technologically.The PI proposes to address this problem by supplying the parts to be assembled with active control over the binding interactions in which they participate, developing a theory and practice of Programmed Robotic Self-Assembly. In particular, the PI proposes to implement programmed robotic SA in a test-bed where programmable parts have micro-controllers, local sensors and mechanical or magnetic latches. The idea is to approximate organic SA where changes in molecular conformation (shape) guide the assembly process. A task that the test-bed should be able to perform is: "Given a desired assembly specification input by the user, download programs onto each robotic part so that, when they are placed in a suitable environment, the parts self assemble into copies of the desired assembly." The success of this agenda will yield a useful class of robotic self-assembling structures as well as a theory for their design and operation.The proposed research involves theoretical models from computer science, dynamical systems and control, robotics and embedded systems. Thus, the interdisciplinary education of students of all levels is required. To address this need, the PI will develop two new courses, on Self Organizing Systems and Specification and Control, and interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at creating graduate and undergraduate students well versed in computer science, robotics, controls and the information-rich physical settings in which these fields are increasingly applied. The PI recognizes that not all students have equal experiences leading up to and while in college. Therefore, the PI will collaborate with the University of Washington College of Engineering's Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement program to employ high school student interns in the PI's laboratory. Furthermore, to make the results of the proposed research and curriculum development accessible to the public, the PI proposes to create interactive demonstrations of SA and robotics more generally. This material will be made available on the web as well as in the PI's lab and will be used by the PI and his students for education and outreach in conjunction with the University of Washington Electrical Engineering Department's K-12 outreach program