Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robots

Bonding mechanism A mechanism that allows modules to attach to other modules. Self-reconfigurable modules have the ability to selectively make and break attachments to other modules. Configuration The connectivity arrangement of modules in a system which describes which modules is physically attached and adjacent to which. Configuration recognition The process of automatically determining a modular robot’s connectivity arrangement. Decentralized control A control system in which the controller elements are not central in location (like the brain) but are distributed throughout the system with each component sub-system controlled by one or more controllers. Enumeration algorithm A routine that counts and displays the number of unique, non-isomorphic configurations of a given modular robotic system. Global bus Communication setup such that when one unit talks all other units can listen, as opposed to neighbor to neighbor communication in which communication occurs only between two units. Isomorphic configurations Modular structures that have the same morphology but are arranged differently according to their module labels. Morphology The form or structure of some entity, more specifically, the connectivity arrangement of modules in a system independent of module labels. Reconfiguration algorithm A method that transforms a given robotic configuration to a desired configuration via a sequence of module detachments and reattachments.