Building Patterned Structures with Robot Swarms

2002

Abstract We introduce a new robotic system, called swarm-bot. The system consists of a swarm of mobile robots with the ability to connect to/disconnect from each other to self-assemble into different kinds of structures. First, we describe our vision and the goals of the project. Then we present preliminary results on the formation of patterns obtained from a grid-world simulation of the system.

2006

Swarm robotics [3] is a relatively new and rapidly growing field in collective robotics. It involves the study of robotic systems made up of cooperating robots. I have been invited here to report on work we carried out in the SWARM-BOTS project, a project funded by the Future and Emerging Technologies program of the European Commission. This work is directly inspired by the collective behavior of social insect colonies and other animal societies [1, 2].

2017 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2017

Recent work in the field of bio-inspired robotic systems has introduced designs for modular robots that are able to assemble into structures (e.g., bridges, landing platforms, fences) using their bodies as the building components. Yet, it remains an open question as to how to program large swarms of robotic modules so that the assembly task is performed as efficiently as possible. Moreover, the problem of designing assembly algorithms is compounded by the scale of these systems, and by the lack of centralized guidance in unstructured environments. The main contribution of this work is a decentralized algorithm to assemble structures with modular robots. Importantly, we coordinate the robots so that docking actions can be parallelized. We show the correctness of our algorithm, and we demonstrate its scalability and generality through multiple scenarios in simulation. Experiments on physical robots demonstrate the validity of our approach in real-world settings.

2020

This paper investigates a restricted version of robot motion planning, in which particles on a board uniformly respond to global signals that cause them to move one unit distance in a particular direction. We look at the problem of assembling patterns within this model. We first derive upper and lower bounds on the worst-case number of steps needed to reconfigure a general purpose board into a target pattern. We then show that the construction of k-colored patterns of size-n requires Ω(n log k) steps in general, and Ω(n log k+ √ k) steps if the constructed shape must always be placed in a designated output location. We then design algorithms to approach these lower bounds: We show how to construct k-colored 1×n lines in O(n log k+k) steps with unique output locations. For general colored shapes within a w×h bounding box, we achieve O(wh log k+hk) steps.

Recent advances in material sciences and robotics promise a potential paradigm shift in the design and construction of human architecture. Inspired by nest constructions of social insects, architectural designs and constructions could arise from locally coordinated interactions of large numbers of robots. In order to achieve this goal, the algorithmic foundations of such processes need to be researched, these investigations' results need to be translated to productive systems, possibly first in the context of multi-physics simulations, and finally to actual, deployment-ready hardware systems. Important research steps are taken at all these levels of abstraction. In this paper, we present a brief survey of works that promote the deployment of self-organising robotic systems for the purpose of building construction. It focusses on the aspects of building materials (rigid and amorphous), deployed hardware (grounded and airborne) and the organisational realisation of the robots' coordination by means of stigmergic communication.

—In this paper, we investigate the collective behavior of a robot swarm that emerges in constructing walls for isolation purposes. Collective construction is one of the highly required behaviors for the future applications at which robotics systems are planned to be deployed. The construction task is performed using a swarm of homogenous robots. We, furthermore, present a probabilistic approach that allows us to design an adaptive construction behavior. Our results are verified using physics-based simulations.

Swarm Evol. Comput., 2020

The self-reconfiguration of large swarms of modular robotic units from one object into another is an intricate problem whose critical parameter that must be optimized is the time required to perform a transformation. Various optimizations methods have been proposed to accelerate transformations, as well as techniques to engineer the shape itself, such as scaffolding which creates an internal object structure filled with holes for easing the motion of modules. In this paper, we propose a novel deterministic and distributed method for rapidly constructing the scaffold of an object from an organized reserve of modules placed underneath the reconfiguration scene. This innovative scaffold design is parameterizable and has a face-centered-cubic lattice structure made from our rotating-only micro-modules. Our method operates at two levels of planning, scheduling the construction of components of the scaffold to avoid deadlocks at one level, and handling the navigation of modules and their ...

The AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate's August 7, 2003 RFI "Space Legos" resonates with several projects currently underway in our research group at the University of Washington, Seattle. Most directly relevant is our project on reconfigurable modular robotic building blocks, described first below. Several of our other projects, described more briefly, are also gemane. Beyond the mechatronic challenges of constructing reliable modular robot systems, we believe we are well positioned to research the computer-assisted design software and programming environments needed to manage self-organizing systems building blocks.

2007

There are examples of robotic systems in which autonomous mobile robots self-assemble into larger connected entities. However, existing systems display little or no autonomous control over the shape of the connected entity thus formed. We describe a novel distributed mechanism that allows autonomous mobile robots to self-assemble into pre-specified patterns. Global patterns are 'grown'using locally applicable rules and local visual perception only.

2013 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), 2013

We present an assembly planning algorithm for constructing planar structures out of rectangular modular robots which can dock to each other to form a brick wall pattern. The algorithm is provably correct and complete, and efficiently computes an assembly sequence in O(m 2 ) time, where m is the number of robots needed to be assembled in a goal structure. The assembly plan incorporates reachability and collision constraints and supports distributed assembly so that multiple robots can be docked to a growing structure without centralized coordination. Simulations and experiments will be also presented.

2002

We present a new robotic concept, called SWARM-BOT, based on a swarm of small and simple autonomous mobile robots called S-BOTs. S-BOTs have a particular assembling capability that allows them to connect physically to other S-BOTs and form a bigger robot entity, the SWARM-BOT. A SWARM-BOT is typically composed by 10 to 30 S-BOTs physically interconnected. S-BOTs can autonomously assemble into a SWARM-BOT but also disassemble again.

Neural Computing and Applications, 2010

Construction Robotics, 2018

Construction is a labor-intensive industry that relies on dependent processes being completed in series. Redesigning fabrication processes to allow for parallelization and replacing workers with mobile multi-robot construction systems are strategies to expedite construction, but they typically require extensive supporting infrastructure and strictly constrain fabricable designs. Here we present Fiberbots, a platform that represents a step toward autonomous, collaborative robotic fabrication. This system comprises a team of identical robots that work in parallel to build different parts of the same structure up to tens of times larger than themselves from raw, homogeneous materials. By winding fiber and resin around themselves, each robot creates an independent composite tube that it can climb and extend. The robots' trajectories are controlled to construct intertwining tubes that result in a computationally derived woven architecture. This end-to-end system is scalable, allowing additional robots to join the system without substantially increasing design complexity or fabrication time. As an initial demonstration of system viability, a structural case study was performed. The robots constructed a 4.5 m-tall tubular composite structure in an outdoor environment in under 12 h. While further improvements must be made before this can be used in industry or in truly cooperative settings, this is the largest known demonstration of on-site construction with multiple, homogeneous mobile robots. This work offers a scalable step forward in autonomous, site-specific fabrication systems.

2011

We propose a novel class of algorithms for autonomously assembling structures from inert building blocks guided by intelligent scaffolding components. Intelligent scaffold units are equipped with sensing, actuation, computation and communication abilities and facilitate the attachment of inert building blocks to the structure. After attaching an inert building block, the scaffold structure reconfigures to attach the next block until the structure is completed. The proposed algorithms are scale-free and independent of the implementation of the locomotion of building blocks and intelligent scaffolding blocks. For example, movement of building and scaffold blocks can be achieved using manipulating robots or self-assembly in a well-stirred liquid. In a robotic assembly context, the intelligent scaffolds take the role of markers on the structure and allow for reducing the perception and coordination requirements on the robotic team. In this paper, we describe algorithms for converting any desired structure that can be represented as 3D lattice into a finite state machine that is executed by intelligent scaffolding blocks; we prove that all finite structures can be assembled using intelligent scaffolds; and we provide examples of simulations that assemble a square, a fractal structure, and a model of a space station, each using only three intelligent scaffold components.

2021

We introduce Swarm Fabrication, a novel concept of creating ondemand, scalable, and reconfigurable fabrication machines made of swarm robots. We present ways to construct an element of fabrication machines, such as motors, elevator, table, feeder, and extruder, by leveraging toio robots and 3D printed attachments. By combining these elements, we demonstrate constructing a X-Y-Z plotter with multiple toio robots, which can be used for drawing plotters and 3D printers. We also show the possibility to extend our idea to more general-purpose fabrication machines, which include 3D printers, CNC machining, foam cutters, line drawing devices, pick and place machines, 3D scanning, etc. Through this, we draw a future vision, where the swarm robots can construct a scalable and reconfigurable fabrication machines on-demand, which can be deployed anywhere the user wishes. We believe this fabrication technique will become a means of interactive and highly flexible fabrication in the future.