M-blocks: Momentum-driven, magnetic modular robots
Name
10.1.1.824.7275.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
1.79 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
f85212f5f3a463a366bea729a9d66f44
Author(s)
Romanishin, John W.
Gilpin, Kyle
Rus, Daniela L.
Date Issued
January 2014
Journal
2013 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Citation
Romanishin, John W., Gilpin, Kyle and Rus, Daniela. "M-blocks: Momentum-driven, magnetic modular robots." 2013 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2013), November 2013, Tokyo, Japan, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2014
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
In this paper, we describe a novel self-assembling, self-reconfiguring cubic robot that uses pivoting motions to change its intended geometry. Each individual module can pivot to move linearly on a substrate of stationary modules. The modules can use the same operation to perform convex and concave transitions to change planes. Each module can also move independently to traverse planar unstructured environments. The modules achieve these movements by quickly transferring angular momentum accumulated in a self-contained flywheel to the body of the robot. The system provides a simplified realization of the modular actions required by the sliding cube model using pivoting. We describe the principles, the unit-module hardware, and extensive experiments with a system of eight modules. Keywords: Actuators; Robots; Lattices; Hardware; Torque; Belts; Fasteners
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1109/iros.2013.6696971
