Design and Implementation of Metamorphic Robots

Abstract This paper discusses issues in the design and implementation of metamorphic robotic systems. A metamorphic robotic system is a collection of independently controlled mechatronic modules, each of which has the ability to connect, disconnect, and climb over adjacent modules. A metamorphic system can dynamically reconfigure by the locomotion of modules over their neighbors. Thus they can be viewed as a collection of connected modular robots which act together to perform the given task. The planar metamorphic robots described in this paper consist of hexagonal or square modules. Because of their shape, the modules completely fill the plane without any gaps, their centers forming a regular lattice. Both the hexagonal and square modules are provided with electromechanical coupling mechanisms actuated by D.C. motors. These connectors help to couple and uncouple modules as they move around each other to form different configurations. The modules are currently controlled by an external processor.