Modeling the fractal development of modular robots

Abstract

Modeling and controlling self-reconfiguration of modular robots is still a challenging problem in the field of distributed control. The two main constrains are the design of target shapes and the absence of global state for decentralized modules. We present a new way for those two problems inspired from the developmental process of plant growth. As a mathematical theory of plant development, L-systems capture the essence of growth process. We extend L-systems to the self-reconfiguration process of modules robots. Target configurations will be described in a string of symbols, and robotic structures capture fractal characters through the rewriting function. Extended graphical interpretation of L-system symbols can generate module-level predictions about robotic global states. Simulations of different self-reconfiguration processes illustrate the proposed method.