Unpacking a Cluster of Modular Robots

摘要

The problem addressed is the reconfiguration of a system of hexagonal metamorphic robots from an initial arbitrary shape configuration I, to an overlapping straight chain goal configuration, G. We first present algorithm ONE-DIR that accomplishes shape change using local contact information and global knowledge of the coordinate of the cell in I that overlaps G and direction of tilt of the chain G. No preprocessing or algorithm-generated message passing is used in the ONE-DIR algorithm. We compare algorithm ONE-DIR to the simpler, but more widely applicable, algorithm we presented in (we call this the BUTTERFLY algorithm). We test and compare the performance of algorithms ONE-DIR and BUTTERFLY using a discrete-event simulator. Our experimental results show that algorithm ONE-DIR is more efficient, in terms of time for reconfiguration and number of module moves, than the BUTTERFLY algorithm.