Morpho: A self-deformable modular robot inspired by cellular structure

We present a modular robot design inspired by the creation of complex structures and functions in biology via deformation. Our design is based on the Tensegrity model of cellular structure, where active filaments within the cell contract and expand to control individual cell shape, and sheets of such cells undergo large-scale shape change through the cooperative action of connected cells. Such deformations play a role in many processes, e.g. early embryo shape change and lamprey locomotion. Modular robotic systems that replicate the basic deformable multicellular structure have the potential to quickly generate large-scale shape change and create dynamic shapes to achieve different global functions. Based on this principle, our design includes four different modular components: (1) active links, (2) passive links, (3) surface membranes, and (4) interfacing cubes. In hardware implementation, we show several self-deformable structures that can be generated from these components, including a self-deformable surface, expandable cube, terrain-adaptive bridge [C.-H. Yu et al., 2007]. We present experiments to demonstrate that such robotic structures are able to perform real time deformation to adapt to different environments. In simulation, we show that these components can be configured into a variety of bio-inspired robots, such as an amoeba-like robot and a tissue-inspired material. We argue that self-deformation is well-suited for dynamic and sensing-adaptive shape change in modular robotics.