Engineering self-adaptive modular robotics: A bio-inspired approach

— In nature, animal groups achieve robustness and scalability with each individual executes a simple and adaptive strategy. Inspired by this phenomenon, we propose a decentralized control framework for modular robots to achieve coordinated and self-adaptive tasks with each modules performs simple distributed sensing and actuation [1]. In this demonstration, we show that such a framework allows several different modular robotic systems to achieve self-adaptation tasks scalably and robustly, examples tasks include module-formed table and bridge that adapt to constantly-perturbed environment, a 3D relief display that renders sophisticated objects, and a tetrahedral robot that performs adaptive locomotion.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: IROS
• Authors: Chih-Han Yu, Radhika Nagpal
• Keywords: Decentralized Control Framework, Groups Achieve Robustness, IROS 2009, Robotics, Self-adaptive Tasks