A distributed method for reconfiguration of a three-dimensional homogeneous structure

作     者：Yoshida, E Murata, S Kurokawa, H Tomita, K Kokaji, S 

作者机构：AIST AIST Mech Engn Lab Tsukuba Ibaraki 3058564 Japan 

出 版 物：《ADVANCED ROBOTICS》 (先进机器人学)

年 卷 期：1999年第13卷第4期

页      面：363-379页

核心收录：

学科分类：12[管理学] 1201[管理学-管理科学与工程(可授管理学、工学学位)] 08[工学] 0811[工学-控制科学与工程] 

主　　题：three-dimensional self-reconfigurable structure modular robots distributed algorithm 

摘      要：A distributed reconfiguration method is proposed for a three-dimensional reconfigurable structure, composed of many identical mechanical units. The method aims to enable the structure to transform itself into a desired structure from an arbitrary initial configuration. The proposed method is implemented in such a way that each unit has identical software as well as hardware, so that any unit can play any role in the system. It is also featured by a stochastic relaxation process, which allows the system to converge to a given target structure by searching for a proper unit motion over many degrees of freedom. Furthermore, the method is extended for the structure to reconfigure itself dynamically according to the environment. The effectiveness of the method is confirmed by computer simulations.