Distributed Coordination Strategy for Locomotion in the ModRED Modular Robot: Mapping the Leader
Advisor Information
Raj Dasgupta
Location
UNO Criss Library, Room 231
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
7-3-2014 2:15 PM
End Date
7-3-2014 2:30 PM
Abstract
We consider the problem of locomotion in a chain-type modular self-reconfigurable robot (MSR) called ModRED. An important aspect of successful locomotion in MSRs is to be able to autonomously coordinate the movement of each of the modules so that the robot can move in the desired direction and with the desired velocity. We consider the locomotion problem in a distributed setting where multiple MSRs can be within the communication range of each other and modules do not have a priori information about other modules that belong to the same MSR as themselves. Synchronizing the movement of modules in such a distributed setting becomes a challenging problem because of the limited perception and computation resources available on each module. To address these problems, in this paper, we propose a novel algorithm that first uses a combination of infra-red and wireless communication signals to enable each module to autonomously determine the set of modules that belong to the same MSR as itself. The algorithm then uses a distributed leader election strategy to identify the MSR’s leader, which thereafter coordinates the motion of the modules in its configuration according to the desired locomotion. We have verified the performance of our algorithm using an accurately simulated model of the ModRED within the Webots simulator and shown that our algorithm can successfully determine the set of connected modules, elect a leader for each configuration and coordinate the locomotion of MSRs for different numbers of modules.
Distributed Coordination Strategy for Locomotion in the ModRED Modular Robot: Mapping the Leader
UNO Criss Library, Room 231
We consider the problem of locomotion in a chain-type modular self-reconfigurable robot (MSR) called ModRED. An important aspect of successful locomotion in MSRs is to be able to autonomously coordinate the movement of each of the modules so that the robot can move in the desired direction and with the desired velocity. We consider the locomotion problem in a distributed setting where multiple MSRs can be within the communication range of each other and modules do not have a priori information about other modules that belong to the same MSR as themselves. Synchronizing the movement of modules in such a distributed setting becomes a challenging problem because of the limited perception and computation resources available on each module. To address these problems, in this paper, we propose a novel algorithm that first uses a combination of infra-red and wireless communication signals to enable each module to autonomously determine the set of modules that belong to the same MSR as itself. The algorithm then uses a distributed leader election strategy to identify the MSR’s leader, which thereafter coordinates the motion of the modules in its configuration according to the desired locomotion. We have verified the performance of our algorithm using an accurately simulated model of the ModRED within the Webots simulator and shown that our algorithm can successfully determine the set of connected modules, elect a leader for each configuration and coordinate the locomotion of MSRs for different numbers of modules.