Dynamic reconfiguration in modular robots using graph partitioning-based coalitions

Abstract

We consider the problem of dynamic self-reconfiguration in a modular self-reconfigurable robot (MSR). Previous approaches to MSR self-reconfiguration solve this problem using algorithms that search for a goal configuration in the MSR’s configuration space. In contrast, we model the selfreconfiguration problem as a constrained optimization problem thatattemptstominimize thereconfigurationcost while achieving a desirable configuration. We formulate the MSR self-reconfiguration problem as finding the optimal coalition structure within a coalition game theoretic framework. To reduce the complexity of finding the optimal coalition structure, we represent the set of all robot modules as a fullyconnected graph. Each robot module corresponds to a vertex of the graph and edge weights represent the utility of a