Paper:
Micro Self-reconfigurable Modular Robot Using Shape Memory Alloy
Eiichi Yoshida, Satoshi Murata, Shigeru Kokaji, Kohji Tomita, and Haruhisa Kurokawa
Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, AIST, MITI, 1-2 Namiki, Tskuba-shi, Ibaraki, 305-83564 Japan
This paper presents a micro self-reconfigurable modular robotic system using shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators. Composed of identical robotic modules, the system can actively configure various structures. The motion of module is based on 2-dimensional rotation using an actuator mechanism with 2 SMA torsion coil springs. The micro-module measures 2cm cube and weighs 15g, half the size of the previous model. The feasibility of reconfiguration was demonstrated using micro-robotic modules. We also show an extended 3-dimensional (3D) model and discuss a distributed self-reconfiguration algorithm for large modular structures.
This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.
Copyright© 2001 by Fuji Technology Press Ltd. and Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. All right reserved.