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

A distributed reconfiguration method is proposed for a theree-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.