Magnetic Force Analysis for the Actuation Design of 2D Rotational Modular Robots

This paper discusses the experimental testing on the actuation design and motion of one type of novel self-reconfigurable modular robot. The shape of the modular robot is octagonal and hence it is named as Octabot. Each module is equipped with one micro-controller and eight actuators. One each side of the modular robot, the actuator is driven by one set of electromagnet for both moving the module and connecting other modules. Multiple Octabots can be used to easily generate a large- scale robot formation. The magnetic field of the actuator is analyzed first in ANSYS and preliminary experimental tests of multiple Octabots are then performed to demonstrate the reconfigurable operation.