University of Southern Denmark Towards Versatile Robots Through Open Heterogeneous Modular Robots Lyder, Andreas Publication date: 2010 Document version: Submitted manuscript Citation for pulished version (APA): Lyder, A. (2010). Towards Versatile Robots Through Open Heterogeneous Modular Robots. Syddansk Universitet. Det Tekniske Fakultet. Go to publication entry in University of Southern Denmark's Research Portal Terms of use This work is brought to you by the University of Southern Denmark. Unless otherwise specified it has been shared according to the terms for self-archiving. If no other license is stated, these terms apply: • You may download this work for personal use only. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying this open access version If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details and we will investigate your claim. Please direct all enquiries to [email protected] Download date: 04. Oct. 2021 TOWARDS VERSATILE ROBOTS THROUGH OPEN HETEROGENEOUS MODULAR ROBOTS A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October, ?=>= Maersk Mc-Kinnery Moller Institute University of Southern Denmark Supervisor: Prof. Kasper Støy To Alma ABSTRACT Robots are important tools in our everyday life. Both in industry and at the consumer level they serve the purpose of increasing our scope and extending our capabilities. Modular robots take the next step, allowing us to easily create and build various robots from a set of modules. If a problem arises, a new robot can be assembled rapidly from the existing modules, in contrast to conventional robots, which require a time consuming and expensive development process. In this thesis we deVne a modular robot to be a robot consisting of dynamically reconVgurable modules. The goal of this thesis is to increase the versatility and practical usability of modular robots by introducing new conceptual designs. Until now modular robots have been based on a pre-speciVed set of modules, and thus, their functionality is limited. We pro- pose an open heterogeneous design concept, which allows a modular robot to be easily extended with new functionality. In addition we introduce deformability, a new means for modular robots to perform autonomous adaptation to changing environments, and enabling parallel actuation. This thesis presents two new modular robotic concepts, the Odin and Thor modular robot. The Odin robot realizes both deformability, and is based on the open hetero- geneous design concept. The Thor robot focuses on the open heterogeneous design concept. The robots are brought outside the lab, to the ICRA Planetary Robotic Con- tingency Challenge, to test their potential, and evaluate the concepts in a real world scenario. We encourage further research in deformability, distinguishing between parallel and collective actuation, and the ability to passively adapt to changing environments. For this thesis, deformability, and the complexities involved, started to curtail the practical usability of the modular robots presented. However, we conclude, that the open het- erogeneous design concept can increase the versatility of modular robots, and bring us towards more versatile robots in general. v RESUMÉ Robotter er vigtige værktøjer i vores hverdag. Både i industrien og for forbrugerne har de til formål at udvide vores evner og øge vores rækkevidde. Modulære robotter tager det næste skridt ved at gøre os i stand til at bygge og skabe forskellige robotter af et sæt moduler. Skulle et problem opstå, kan en ny robot hurtigt blive sat sammen fra de eksisterende moduler. Dette skal ses i forhold til traditionelle robotter, som er både tidskrævende og dyre at udvikle. I denne afhandling deVnerer vi en modulær robot, som en robot bestående af dynamisk omkonVgurerbare moduler. Målet med denne afhandling er at gøre modulære robotter mere alsidige og praktisk anvendelige ved at introducere nye omkonVgurerbare designs. Indtil nu har modulære robotter bestået af et predeVneret sæt af moduler, og deres funktionalitet er derfor begrænset. Vi foreslår et åbent heterogent design koncept, som gør det nemt at udvide en modulær robot med ny funktionalitet. Derudover introducerer vi derformerbarhed, som er en ny måde for modulære robotter autonomt at tilpasse sig skiftende miljøer, og som tillader parallel aktuering. Denne afhandling præsenterer to nye modulær robot koncepter, Odin og Thor. Den modulære robot Odin realiserer både deformerbarhed, og det åbne heterogene design koncept. Den modulære robot Thor fokuserer alene på det åbne heterogene design koncept. Begge robotter er anvendt udenfor laboratoriet, ved “ICRA Planetary Robotic Contingency Challenge”, for at teste deres potentiale og evaluere koncepterne i en virke- lighedstro situation. Vi opfordrer til yderligere forskning i deformerbarhed, som hver for sig fokuserer på parallel aktuering og evnen til passivt at tilpasse sig skiftende miljøer. I denne afhan- dling begyndte deformerbarhed og de medfølgende kompleksiteter at Wytte fokus fra den praktiske anvendelighed af de præsentererede modulære robotter. Derimod kan vi konkludere, at det åbne heterogene design koncept kan øge alsidigheden af modulære robotter og generelt bringe os tættere på mere alsidige robotter. vii PUBLICATIONS The following papers represent the author’s published work, as both corresponding author and co-author. Some of the work presented in this thesis has been published previously in these papers. The papers are listed in chronological order. K S, A L,R F M G, D • J C , Hierarchical Robots. In Proceedings of the IROS Workshop on Self-ReconVgurable Robots/Systems and Applications (San Diego, CA, USA, ?==D). –[CF] R F M G,K S, D J C , • A L, A Self-reconVgurable Communication Network for Modu- lar Robots, In Proceedings of the >st International Conference on Robot Commu- nication and Coordination (ROBOCOMM) (Athens, Greece, ?==D). –[??] A L,R F M G,K S, Mechanical • Design of Odin, an Extendable Heterogeneous Deformable Modular Robot, In Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (Nice, France, September ?==E), pp. EE@-EEE. – [A=] R F M G, A L, D J C , • K S, Reusable Electronics and Adaptable Communication as Im- plemented in the Odin Modular Robot, In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Kobe, Japan, ?==F), pp. >>B?->>BE. – [?>] A L,H G P , K S, Representation • and Shape Estimation of Odin, a Parallel Under-Actuated Modular Robot, In Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (St. Louis, MO, USA, October ?==F), pp. B?DB-B?E=. – [A?] A L, R F M G, K S, Gen- • derless Connection Mechanism for Modular Robots Introducing Torque Trans- mission Between Modules, In Proceedings of the ICRA Workshop on Modular Robots: State of the Art (Anchorage, Alaska, May ?=>=), pp. DD-E>. – [A>] ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First I would like to thank my main and project supervisor Kasper Støy, for giving me the freedom to pursue my own interests in this thesis, and for motivating me when things were dull. I would also like to thank the entire Modular Robotics Group, Ulrik Pagh Schultz, David Johan Christensen, David Brandt, Mirko Bordignon, Jørgen Chris- tian Larsen, Palle Hermansen, and especially my oXcemate Ricardo Franco Mendoza Garcia for his collaboration in realizing the robots of this thesis and his great friendship. I would like to thank professor Mark Yim, from University of Pennsylvania, for host- ing me in his modular robotics lab during fall ?==E. Michael Park and Jimmy Sastra to whom I am in great debt for making my stay in Philadelphia an unforgettable experi- ence. I would like to thank a number of people who has supported my work. Henrik Gordon Petersen for his advice. Charlotte Ryberg and Richard Beck for their technical support. Vibeke Nielsen and the institute secretaries for their administrative support. Simon Sidelmann Simonsen for supporting the realization of the Vrst versions of Odin. Jesper Tordrup, Lars Peder Nielsen, and Stanislav Kucirek for supporting the realization of Thor. I would like to thank my familiy, for their endless support. Last – Helle – thank you for being an invaluable part of my life, and for Alma, the best thing that ever happened. xi CONTENTS Abstract iii Publications vii Acknowledgments ix > Introduction @ >.> What is a Modular Robot? A >.>.> DeVnition of a Robot B >.>.? DeVnition of a Modular Robot C >.>.@ Similar, but not a Modular Robot D >.? The Three Promises D >.?.> Versatility E >.?.? Robustness E >.?.@ Low cost F >.@ Multiple Applications F >.@.> Maintenance F >.@.? Search and Rescue >= >.@.@ Space Applications >> >[email protected] Morphing Production Lines >? >[email protected] Physical Displays >? >[email protected] Study of Biology >? >[email protected] Educational Toys >@ >[email protected] Healthcare >A >[email protected] Architecture >B >.A Thesis Summary >B >.B Thesis Contributions >C >.C Thesis Structure >D ? Essential Characteristics >F ?.> Module Homogeneity >F ?.? Deformability ?A ?.@ Dynamic ReconVgurability ?D ?.A Robot Topologies ?F ?.B A Taxonomy of Modular Robots @= ?.B.> Dimension @= ?.B.? Degrees of Freedom (DoF) @@ ?.B.@ Actuation @@ ?.B.A Connectors @@ ?.B.B Connector Gender @A xiii ?.B.C Attachment method @A ?.B.D Controller @B ?.B.E Power @B ?.B.F Communication media @D ?.B.>= Communication method @D ?.B.>> Sensors @E ?.C Conclusion @F @ Experiments on Deformability by Exploiting