Special Issue On Self Reconfiguring Modular Robots

What Is Self Reconfiguring Modular Robot Self-reconfigurable modular robots are autonomous kinematic machines that may take on a variety of shapes and configurations. They are also known as modular self-reconfiguring robotic systems. In addition to the conventional actuation, sensing, and control that are typically found in fixed-morphology robots, self-reconfiguring robots have the ability to deliberately change their own shape by rearranging the connectivity of their parts. This enables them to adapt to new circumstances, perform new tasks, or recover from damage more quickly than fixed-morphology robots. How You Will Benefit (I) Insights, and validations about the following topics: Chapter 1: Self-reconfiguring modular robot Chapter 2: Robot Chapter 3: Reconfigurable computing Chapter 4: Utility fog Chapter 5: Ant colony optimization algorithms Chapter 6: Swarm intelligence Chapter 7: Claytronics Chapter 8: Reconfigurable manufacturing system Chapter 9: Control reconfiguration Chapter 10: Programmable matter Chapter 11: Physicomimetics Chapter 12: Webots Chapter 13: Daniela L. Rus Chapter 14: Robotics Chapter 15: MIBE architecture Chapter 16: Morphogenetic robotics Chapter 17: Torch (machine learning) Chapter 18: Kilobot Chapter 19: Molecubes Chapter 20: Soft robotics Chapter 21: Continuum robot (II) Answering the public top questions about self reconfiguring modular robot. (III) Real world examples for the usage of self reconfiguring modular robot in many fields. (IV) 17 appendices to explain, briefly, 266 emerging technologies in each industry to have 360-degree full understanding of self reconfiguring modular robot' technologies. Who This Book Is For Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of self reconfiguring modular robot.

A comprehensive survey of the growing field of self-reconfigurable robots that discusses the history of the field, design considerations, and control strategies. Self-reconfigurable robots are constructed of robotic modules that can be connected in many different ways. These modules move in relationship to each other, which allows the robot as a whole to change shape. This shapeshifting makes it possible for the robots to adapt and optimize their shapes for different tasks. Thus, a self-reconfigurable robot can first assume the shape of a rolling track to cover distance quickly, then the shape of a snake to explore a narrow space, and finally the shape of a hexapod to carry an artifact back to the starting point. The field of self-reconfigurable robots has seen significant progress over the last twenty years, and this book collects and synthesizes existing research previously only available in widely scattered individual papers, offering an accessible guide to the latest information on self-reconfigurable robots for researchers and students interested in the field. Self-Reconfigurable Robots focuses on conveying the intuition behind the design and control of self-reconfigurable robots rather than technical details. Suggestions for further reading refer readers to the underlying sources of technical information. The book includes descriptions of existing robots and a brief history of the field; discussion of module design considerations, including module geometry, connector design, and computing and communication infrastructure; an in-depth presentation of strategies for controlling self-reconfiguration and locomotion; and exploration of future research challenges.

Advances in Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots I provides a selection of key papers presented in The Second ASME/IFToMM International Conference on Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots (ReMAR 2012) held on 9th -11th July 2012 in Tianjin, China. This ongoing series of conferences will be covered in this ongoing collection of books. A total of seventy-eight papers are divided into seven parts to cover the topology, kinematics and design of reconfigurable mechanisms with the reconfiguration theory, analysis and synthesis, and present the current research and development in the field of reconfigurable mechanisms including reconfigurable parallel mechanisms. In this aspect, the recent study and development of reconfigurable robots are further presented with the analysis and design and with their control and development. The bio-inspired mechanisms and subsequent reconfiguration are explored in the challenging fields of rehabilitation and minimally invasive surgery. Advances in Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots I further extends the study to deployable mechanisms and foldable devices and introduces applications of reconfigurable mechanisms and robots. The rich-content of Advances in Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots I brings together new developments in reconfigurable mechanisms and robots and presents a new horizon for future development in the field of reconfigurable mechanisms and robots.

This book sheds light on the large-scale engineering systems that shape and guide our everyday lives. It does this by bringing together the latest research and practice defining the emerging field of Complex Engineered Systems. Understanding, designing, building and controlling such complex systems is going to be a central challenge for engineers in the coming decades. This book is a step toward addressing that challenge.

Algorithms that control the computational processes relating sensors and actuators are indispensable for robot navigation and the perception of the world in which they move. Therefore, a deep understanding of how algorithms work to achieve this control is essential for the development of efficient and usable robots in a broad field of applications.

This book describes how the principle of self-sufficiency can be applied to a reconfigurable modular robotic organism. It shows the design considerations for a novel REPLICATOR robotic platform, both hardware and software, featuring the behavioral characteristics of social insect colonies. Following a comprehensive overview of some of the bio-inspired techniques already available, and of the state-of-the-art in re-configurable modular robotic systems, the book presents a novel power management system with fault-tolerant energy sharing, as well as its implementation in the REPLICATOR robotic modules. In addition, the book discusses, for the first time, the concept of “artificial energy homeostasis” in the context of a modular robotic organism, and shows its verification on a custom-designed simulation framework in different dynamic power distribution and fault tolerance scenarios. This book offers an ideal reference guide for both hardware engineers and software developers involved in the design and implementation of autonomous robotic systems.

This book is devoted to mechatronic, chemical, bacteriological, biological, and hybrid systems, utilizing cooperative, networked, swarm, self-organizing, evolutionary and bio-inspired design principles and targeting underwater, ground, air, and space applications. It addresses issues such as open-ended evolution, self-replication, self-development, reliability, scalability, energy foraging, adaptivity, and artificial sociality. The book has been prepared by 52 authors from world-leading research groups in 14 countries. This book covers not only current but also future key technologies and is aimed at anyone who is interested in learning more about collective robotics and how it might affect our society.