JSME International Journal Series C Mechanical Systems, Machine Elements and Manufacturing
Online ISSN : 1347-538X
Print ISSN : 1344-7653
ISSN-L : 1344-7653
Self-Organizing Collective Robots with Morphogenesis in a Vertical Plane
Kazuo HOSOKAWATeruo FUJIIHayato KAETSUHajime ASAMAYoji KURODAIsao ENDO
Author information
JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

1999 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 195-202

Details
Abstract

This paper presents a novel concept of self-organizing collective robots with morphogenesis in a vertical plane.For physical reconfiguration of a swarm of robots against gravity, new types of mechanisms and control strategies are proposed and demonstrated.Basic feasibility of the mechanisms was confirmed through an experiment adopting four prototype robots.Each robot is composed of a body and a pair of arms.The body is equipped with permanent magnets for bonding with another robot.The arms change the bonding configuration by rotating and sliding motions.As for the control strategies, we proposed algorithms which can generate specific global formations of robots from local and minimum interactions between neighboring robots.It is shown that the proposed algorithms can successfully conduct the swarm of robots to the predetermined configurations.

Content from these authors
© The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Previous article Next article
feedback
Top