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Distributed Autonomous Morphogenesis in a Self-Assembling Robotic System

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Morphogenetic Engineering

Part of the book series: Understanding Complex Systems ((UCS))

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Abstract

We present distributed morphogenesis control strategies in a swarm of robots able to autonomously assemble into 3D symbiotic organisms to perform specific tasks. Each robot in such a system can work autonomously, while teams of robots can self-assemble into various morphologies when required. The idea is to combine the advantages of swarm and self-reconfigurable robotic systems in order to investigate and develop novel principles of development and adaptation for “robotic organisms”, from bio-inspired and evolutionary perspectives. Unlike other modular self-reconfigurable robotic systems, individual robots here are independently mobile and can autonomously dock to each other. The goal is that the robots initially form a certain 2D planar structure and, based on their positions in the body plan, the aggregated “organism” should lift itself to form a 3D configuration, then move and function as a macroscopic whole. It should also be able to disassemble and reassemble into different morphologies to fulfil certain task requirements.

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Acknowledgments

The SYMBRION project is funded by the European Commission within the work programme Future and Emergent Technologies Proactive under grant agreement no. 216342.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL), University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Wenguo Liu & Alan F. T. Winfield

Authors
  1. Wenguo Liu
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  2. Alan F. T. Winfield
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Correspondence to Wenguo Liu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut des Systèmes Complexes, Paris Ile-de-France, Ecole Polytechnique, rue Lhomond 57-59, Paris, 75005, France

    René Doursat

  2. Binghamton University, Dept. Bioengineering, State University of New York, Binghamton, 13902-6000, New York, USA

    Hiroki Sayama

  3. Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Lab. LACL-EA 4219, Université Paris-Est Créteil, avenue due Général de Gaulle 61, Créteil Cedex, 94010, France

    Olivier Michel

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Liu, W., Winfield, A.F.T. (2012). Distributed Autonomous Morphogenesis in a Self-Assembling Robotic System. In: Doursat, R., Sayama, H., Michel, O. (eds) Morphogenetic Engineering. Understanding Complex Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33902-8_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33902-8_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-33901-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-33902-8

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