ATRON Robots: Versatility from Self-Reconfigurable Modules

Traditional fixed morphology robots are limited to purely functional adaptation and thereby to a limited range of applications. In contrast modular self-reconfigurable robots can dynamically and autonomously change both their function and morphology to meet new demands of changing tasks. Therefore, self-reconfigurable robots have the potential to become highly versatile. This paper documents and discusses the application versatility of self-reconfigurable robots in general and of the ATRON system in particular. We present a range of different self-reconfigurable robots assembled from the ATRON base module. The robot´s ability includes locomotion (snake, car, and walker), manipulation of objects (serial manipulator, conveyer belt) and autonomous change of functionality and shape (locomotion configurations, many-module shape-change). We also demonstrate the structure of simple anatomical building blocks (bones, muscles, etc.) which we envision can be assembled into more complex robots of future miniaturized modules.