SUPERBOT: A Deployable, Multi-Functional, and Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robotic System

Self-reconfigurable robots are modular robots that can autonomously change their shape and size to meet specific operational demands. Recently, there has been a great interest in using self-reconfigurable robots in applications such as reconnaissance, rescue missions, and space applications. Designing and controlling self-reconfigurable robots is a difficult task. Hence, the research has primarily been focused on developing systems that can function in a controlled environment. This paper presents a novel self-reconfigurable robotic system called SuperBot, which addresses the challenges of building and controlling deployable self-reconfigurable robots. Six prototype modules have been built and preliminary experimental results demonstrate that SuperBot is a flexible and powerful system that can be used in challenging real-world applications.

Authors

• Behnam Salemi
• Mark Moll
• Wei-Min Shen

Keywords

• Robot kinematics
• Orbital robotics
• Control systems
• Robot control
• Intelligent robots
• Connectors
• Hardware
• Buildings
• Shape
• Reconnaissance
• Multifunctional System
• Space Applications
• Rescue Missions
• Degrees Of Freedom
• Sensory Information
• Behavioral Tasks
• Fault-tolerant
• Distributed Control
• Network Modules
• Manipulation Tasks
• End-effector
• Dual Mode
• Present Task
• Power Management
• Presence Of Obstacles
• Software Architecture
• Uncontrolled Environment
• Analogous Values
• Locomotion Tasks
• Bytes Of Data
• Modular Robots
• Self-Reconfigurable Robots
• Distributed Robotics
• Deployable Robots