Cross-Ball: A new morphogenetic self-reconfigurable modular robot

Abstract

We aim to develop a new self-reconfigurable modular robot, Cross-Ball, so that we can apply bio-inspired morphogenesis mechanisms to modular robots to adapt to dynamic environments automatically. To this end, the mechanical design of modular robots has to be flexible and robust enough for various complex configurations. The major contributions of the design of this Cross-Ball robots include: 1) it provides several flexible 3D reconfiguration capabilities, such as rotating, parallel, and diagonal movements; (2) a flexible and robust hardware platform for modular robots using more complex self-reconfiguration algorithms; and (3) the mobility of each individual module. Furthermore, a skeleton-based approach is proposed for the motion control of the modules, where the module movements can be conducted in groups to improve the system reconfiguration efficiency. Some simulation results have demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed module design and the corresponding controller by reconfiguring the robots to various complex configurations.