Robots: Modular and Reconfigurable Robots

Posted 20 Jul 2008 at 15:29 UTC by mwaibel

The latest episode of the Robots podcast features interviews with two experts in self-reconfiguring and modular robotics. Kasper Støy, famous for his pioneering work with robots such as the CONRO (also see previous post), shares his recent experience at the ICRA Contingency Challenge. This competition allows only a few hours to construct a robot capable of solving an unexpected problem in a planetary environment. Støy's team integrated the homogeneous ATRON robot and the heterogeneous ODIN robot with bits of LEGO and duct tape to solve the challenge. Robert Fitch, currently research fellow with the Australian Centre for Field Robotics, presents his latest self-reconfiguring robot. In simulation, millions of robotic modules assemble to form a large cube robot able to locomote in many types of environments. Fitch presents the envisioned applications and hardware implementations for his self-reconfigurable modular robots. Details and videos on the Robots website and Robots forum.