This paper introduces the concept of ModularudHydraulic Propulsion, in which a modular robot that operatesudin a fluid environment moves by routing the fluid throughuditself. The robot’s modules represent sections of a hydraulicsudnetwork. Each module can move fluid between any of itsudfaces. The modules (network sections) can be rearrangedudinto arbitrary topologies. We propose a decentralized motionudcontroller, which does not require modules to communicate,udcompute, nor store information during run-time. We use 3-Dudsimulations to compare the performance of this controller toudthat of a centralized controller with full knowledge of the task.udWe also detail the design and fabrication of six 2-D prototypeudmodules, which float in a water tank. Results of systematicudexperiments show that the decentralized controller, despite itsudsimplicity, reliably steers modular robots towards a light source.udModular Hydraulic Propulsion could offer new solutions toudproblems requiring reconfigurable systems to move preciselyudin 3-D, such as inspection of pipes, vascular systems or otherudconfined spaces.
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