Reconfiguring a modular robot into a humanoid formation: A multi-body dynamic perspective on motion scheduling for modules and their assemblies

In this paper, we study the scheduling architecture that enables an assembly of mobile modules to reconfigure into a humanoid formation with a manipulator arm. The investigated problem arises from the articulated nature of the formation which involves multiple degrees of freedom, thus requiring a control approach that synchronizes the actuators´ motion during shape metamorphosis. Using the principles of motion kinematics and caterpillar tracks modeling, we present a coherent solution which we further validate on a sample three-module formation of STORM (Self-configurable and Transformable Omni-directional Robotic Modules). Simulation results on MSC ADAMS CAR validate the feasibility of the synchronization architecture, and offer further insight into the dynamic dependencies of coupled motions.