Collective Construction of Dynamic Equilibrium Structure Through Interaction of Simple Robots with Semi-active Blocks

This paper proposes a collective construction method through interaction between simple robots and intelligent blocks that has a rule set and functions to communicate with neighboring blocks. In our proposed method, the structure is formed by growing chain of blocks. The growth direction is determined by the rule set and a counter value passed between the blocks. The robots load or unload the block based on a simple algorithm and a local signal from the blocks. Because of the simplicity of each robot’s behavior, the structure is locally unstable: the blocks can be attached or detached randomly from the structure even if they have already formed a part of the structure. The structure is considered a dynamic equilibrium structure that is locally unstable but globally stable. In this paper, we first explain the mechanism of our proposal and show some fundamental characteristics obtained by computer simulation. Then, we show the adaptability of the system by introducing simple sensing dynamics for an external stimulus.