Multiagent control of self-reconfigurable robots

Abstract We demonstrate how multiagent systems provide useful control techniques for modular self-reconfigurable (metamorphic) robots. Such robots consist of many modules that can move relative to each other, thereby changing the overall shape of the robot to suit different tasks. Multiagent control is particularly well-suited for tasks involving uncertain and changing environments. We illustrate this approach through simulation experiments of Proteo, a metamorphic robot system currently under development.

[1]  Joshua M. Epstein,et al.  Growing artificial societies , 1996 .

[2]  Mark H. Yim,et al.  Locomotion With A Unit-Modular Reconfigurable Robot , 1995 .

[3]  Toshio Fukuda,et al.  Cellular robotic system (CEBOT) as one of the realization of self-organizing intelligent universal manipulator , 1990, Proceedings., IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[4]  Carlo D. Montemagno,et al.  Constructing nanomechanical devices powered by biomolecular motors , 1999 .

[5]  Melanie Mitchell,et al.  An introduction to genetic algorithms , 1996 .

[6]  Marsette Vona,et al.  Self-reconfiguration planning with compressible unit modules , 1999, Proceedings 1999 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.99CH36288C).

[7]  Gregory S. Chirikjian,et al.  Useful metrics for modular robot motion planning , 1997, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[8]  Toshio Fukuda,et al.  Dynamically reconfigurable robotic system , 1988, Proceedings. 1988 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[9]  Craig D. McGray,et al.  The self-reconfiguring robotic molecule: design and control algorithms , 1998 .

[10]  B A Huberman,et al.  Evolutionary games and computer simulations. , 1993, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[11]  Mark Yim,et al.  Indoor automation with many mobile robots , 1990, EEE International Workshop on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Towards a New Frontier of Applications.

[12]  K. J. Gabriel,et al.  Distributed MEMS: new challenges for computation , 1997 .

[13]  Hogg,et al.  Dynamics of computational ecosystems. , 1989, Physical review. A, General physics.

[14]  Arancha Casal,et al.  Self-reconfiguration planning for a class of modular robots , 1999, Optics East.

[15]  K. Eric Drexler,et al.  Nanosystems - molecular machinery, manufacturing, and computation , 1992 .

[16]  Wei-Min Shen,et al.  CONRO: Towards Deployable Robots with Inter-Robots Metamorphic Capabilities , 2000, Auton. Robots.

[17]  Eleanor G. Rieffel,et al.  Design of decentralized controllers for self-reconfigurable modular robots using genetic programming , 2000, Proceedings. The Second NASA/DoD Workshop on Evolvable Hardware.

[18]  Hajime Asama,et al.  Self-organizing collective robots with morphogenesis in a vertical plane , 1998, Proceedings. 1998 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.98CH36146).

[19]  G. Whitesides,et al.  Self-Assembly of Mesoscale Objects into Ordered Two-Dimensional Arrays , 1997, Science.

[20]  Tad Hogg,et al.  Agent-Based Control for Object Manipulation with Modular Self-reconfigurable Robots , 2001, IJCAI.

[21]  M. Krasnow,et al.  Genetic control of branching morphogenesis. , 1999, Science.

[22]  Wei-Min Shen,et al.  Hormone-controlled metamorphic robots , 2001, Proceedings 2001 ICRA. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.01CH37164).

[23]  J. Bryzek,et al.  Micromachines on the march , 1994, IEEE Spectrum.

[24]  H. Kurokawa,et al.  Self-assembling machine , 1994, Proceedings of the 1994 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[25]  J. Howard,et al.  Molecular motors: structural adaptations to cellular functions , 1997, Nature.

[26]  Ying Zhang,et al.  Distributed Control for 3D Metamorphosis , 2001, Auton. Robots.

[27]  Tucker R. Balch,et al.  Behavior-based formation control for multirobot teams , 1998, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[28]  Susan Hackwood,et al.  Self-organization of sensors for swarm intelligence , 1992, Proceedings 1992 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[29]  Eiichi Yoshida,et al.  A 3-D self-reconfigurable structure , 1998, Proceedings. 1998 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.98CH36146).

[30]  D'arcy W. Thompson On Growth and Form , 1945 .

[31]  Maja J. Mataric,et al.  Designing and Understanding Adaptive Group Behavior , 1995, Adapt. Behav..

[32]  Athanassios Siapas,et al.  Criticality and Parallelism in Combinatorial Optimization , 1996, Science.

[33]  Nancy Forbes,et al.  Amorphous computing , 2000 .

[34]  Tad Hogg,et al.  Controlling smart matter , 1996, cond-mat/9611024.

[35]  Paul J. Layzell,et al.  Analysis of unconventional evolved electronics , 1999, CACM.