Sensor-Based Distributed Control for Chain-Typed Self-Reconfiguration

Kenneth Payne, Behnam Salemi, Peter Will, and Wei-Min Shen. Sensor-Based Distributed Control for Chain-Typed Self-Reconfiguration. In Proc. 2004 IEEE/RSJ Intl. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 2074–2080, Sendai, Japan, Sept./Oct. 2004.

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Abstract

This paper describes two contributions for chain typed self-reconfigurable robots: a very illustrative self-reconfiguration task changing from “I” shape to “T” shape, and a sensor-based distributed control method for automatic planning and execution of self-reconfiguration. In the “I-to-T” task, a snake robot is to reconfigure itself into a tripod by docking the tail to a target module in the body, releasing a portion of the connected mass as a new leg, and switching to a new gait automatically. We first accomplished this task using predetermined instructions for individual modules without considering sensor inputs. We then developed a sensor-based approach using our hormone-inspired distributed control to allow the robot to dynamically accept the point of connection at run-time, align the tail and the target using sensors, and select appropriate actions based on modules' location in the configuration. Compared to the standard inverse kinematics, this new control approach is sensor-based and can endure the limited computational resources and uncertainties in the connections. It can be applied to self-reconfigurations that are not designed by the programmers but triggered by the environment.

BibTeX Entry

@InProceedings{	  payne2004sensor-based-distributed-control-for-chain-typed,
  abstract	= {This paper describes two contributions for chain typed
		  self-reconfigurable robots: a very illustrative
		  self-reconfiguration task changing from ``I'' shape to
		  ``T'' shape, and a sensor-based distributed control method
		  for automatic planning and execution of
		  self-reconfiguration. In the ``I-to-T'' task, a snake robot
		  is to reconfigure itself into a tripod by docking the tail
		  to a target module in the body, releasing a portion of the
		  connected mass as a new leg, and switching to a new gait
		  automatically. We first accomplished this task using
		  predetermined instructions for individual modules without
		  considering sensor inputs. We then developed a sensor-based
		  approach using our hormone-inspired distributed control to
		  allow the robot to dynamically accept the point of
		  connection at run-time, align the tail and the target using
		  sensors, and select appropriate actions based on modules'
		  location in the configuration. Compared to the standard
		  inverse kinematics, this new control approach is
		  sensor-based and can endure the limited computational
		  resources and uncertainties in the connections. It can be
		  applied to self-reconfigurations that are not designed by
		  the programmers but triggered by the environment.},
  address	= {Sendai, Japan},
  author	= {Kenneth Payne and Behnam Salemi and Peter Will and Wei-Min
		  Shen},
  booktitle	= iros-04,
  month		= {Sept./Oct.},
  pages		= {2074--2080},
  title		= {Sensor-Based Distributed Control for Chain-Typed
		  Self-Reconfiguration},
  year		= {2004}
}