Patent ID: 9737986
Date: 2017-08-22
CPC Classifications: B25J,G05B,G05D

Claim:
1. A reconfigurable robotic system, comprising: at least two digital servo modules, wherein each digital servo module includes a position-controlled motor and a position sensor for sensing a servo position; a plurality of elemental building blocks, the elemental building blocks being connected to the digital servo modules to construct a robotic figure having position-controlled joints, wherein the elemental building blocks are combinable with the digital servo modules to construct robotic figures of varying configurations; and a central controller communicating with the digital servo modules via a plurality of communication channels, each of which is subdivided into a plurality of sub-channels; wherein the central controller communicates with each given digital servo module via a respective sub-channel, and wherein the central controller periodically transmits a discovery signal in each sub-channel until a newly attached digital servo module transmits a reply to the discovery signal, at which time the central controller recognizes the presence of the newly attached digital servo module, wherein the central controller transmits servo position commands to the digital servo modules via the logical sub-channels and receives servo position feedback from the digital servo modules, and wherein the central controller is configured to set the digital servo modules in a learned motion mode, in which the position-controlled joints can be manually manipulated and in the process each of the selected digital servo modules periodically transmits servomotor position to the central controller which records a trajectory for each digital servo module, and wherein the central controller sends position commands to the digital servo modules in order to replay the recorded servo trajectories.