A simple approach to the control of locomotion in self-reconfigurable robots

In this paper we present role-based control which is a general bottom-up approach to the control of locomotion in self-reconfigurable robots. We use role-based control to implement a caterpillar, a sidewinder, and a rolling track gait in the CONRO self-reconfigurable robot consisting of eight modules. Based on our experiments and discussion we conclude that control systems based on role-based control are minimal, robust to communication errors, and robust to reconfiguration. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.