Design of the ATRON lattice-based self-reconfigurable robot

Self-reconfigurable robots are robots that can change their shape in order to better suit their given task in their immediate environment. Related work on around fifteen such robots is presented, compared and discussed. Based on this survey, design considerations leading to a novel design for a self-reconfigurable robot, called “ATRON”, is described. The ATRON robot is a lattice-based self-reconfigurable robot with modules composed of two hemispheres joined by a single revolute joint. Mechanical design and resulting system properties are described and discussed, based on FEM analyses as well as real-world experiments. It is concluded that the ATRON design is both competent and novel. Even though the ATRON modules are minimalistic, in the sense that they have only one actuated degree of freedom, the collective of modules is capable of self-reconfiguring in three dimensions. Also, a question is raised on how to compare and evaluate designs for self-reconfigurable robots, with a focus on lattice-based systems.