We are developing efficient algorithms for automatic self-reconfiguration for unit modular systems, in which all modules are identical. Given a goal shape G for a robot R that consists of n modules, develop a planning algorithm which will generate G from R. Technical Approach. The first property ensures that any geometric structure can be aggregated from some collection of modules. It is activated by three binary actuators that permit the side length of the square to shrink and expand by a factor of two and to make or break connections. This actuation scheme allows an individual module to relocate to arbitrary positions on the surface of a structure in constant time.
Previous systems necessitate linear time in the number of modules on the surface.
The melt-grow planner achieves shape morphing by using an intermediate structure, which is a projection of the robot modules into a pool on the ground. In our lab, we have built ten Crystalline Atoms and experimented with using self-reconfiguration for locomotion and for shape morphing tasks. We are also working on a parallel and distributed version of this algorithm. In The 1998 Workshop on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics , eds. P. Agarwal, L. Kavraki, M. Mason, pp 375-386, A. K. Peters, Boston, MA, 1998.