Open Access
Self-Assembling Robots
Roderich Groß
- 12 Oct 2007
- Vol. 22, pp 61-63
9
TL;DR: The swarm-bot qualifies as the current state of the art in self-assembling robots, and some initial evidence is provided that self-assembly can offer robotic systems additional capabilities and functions useful for the accomplishment of concrete tasks is supplied.
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Abstract: We look at robotic systems made of separate discrete components that, by self-assembling, can organize into physical structures of growing size. We review 22 such systems, exhibiting components ranging from passive mechanical parts to mobilerobots. We present a taxonomy of the systems, and discuss their design and function. We then focus on a particular system, the swarm-bot. In swarm-bot, the components that assemble are self-propelled modules that are fully autonomous in power, perception, computation, and action. We examine the additional capabilities and functions self-assembly can offer an autonomous group of modules for the accomplishment of a concrete task: the transport of an object. The design of controllers is accomplished in simulation usingtechniques from biologically-inspired computing. We show that self-assembly can offer adaptive value to groups that compete in an artificial evolution based on their fitness in task performance. Moreover, we investigate mechanisms that facilitate the design of self-assembling systems. The controllers are transferred to the physical swarm-bot system, and the capabilities of self-assembly and object transport are extensively evaluated in a range of different environments. Additionally, the controller for self-assembly is transferred and evaluated on a different robotic system, a super-mechano colony. Given the breadth and quality of the results obtained, we can say that the swarm-bot qualifies as the current state of the art in self-assembling robots. Our work supplies some initial evidence (in form of simulations and experiments with the swarm-bot) that self-assembly can offer robotic systems additional capabilities and functions useful for the accomplishment of concrete tasks.
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Citations
•Journal Article
Self-Assembly in Physical Autonomous Robots: the Evolutionary Robotics Approach
TL;DR: This research work illustrates the details of a methodologi cal approach to the design of homogeneous neuro-controllers for self-assembly in physical autonomous robots in which no assumptions are made concerning how agents allocate roles.
Enhancing the Cooperative Transport of Multiple Objects
Antoine Decugnière,Benjamin Poulain,Alexandre Campo,Carlo Pinciroli,Bruno Tartini,Michel Osee,Marco Dorigo,Mauro Birattari +7 more
- 22 Sep 2008
TL;DR: This research is carried out within the framework of the Swarmanoid project and aims at enhancing the transport capabilities of the robot swarms developed in this project.
Configuration Recognition, Communication Fault Tolerance and Self-reassembly for the CKBot
Michael G. Park
- 01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the Connector Kinetic robot (CKBot) is used for configuration recognition and distributed communication fault tolerance, and the organization and control of self-reassembly.
The cart-bot and the cooperative transport of multiple objects in the swarmanoid project
Antoine Decugnière,Benjamin Poulain,Alexandre Campo,Carlo Pinciroli,Bruno Tartini,Michel Osee,Marco Dorigo,Mauro Birattari +7 more
- 01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: This research aims at enhancing the transport capabilities of the robot swarms developed in this project and relies on a cart in which multiple objects are collected and stored before being transported to destination.
Assessing the effect of self-assembly ports in evolutionary swarm robotics
Kazi Shah Nawaz Ripon,Eirik Jakobsen,Christopher Jeffrey Tannum,Jean-Marc Montanier +3 more
- 01 Dec 2016
TL;DR: Experimental results suggest that configuration of the connection ports can significantly impact the emergence of selfassembly in evolutionary swarm robotics.
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