Abstract. Metamorphic robots are modular robots that can reconfigure their shape. Such capability is desirable in tasks such as earthquake search and rescue and battlefield surveillance and scouting, where robots must go through unexpected situations and obstacles and perform tasks that are difficult for fixed-shape robots. The capabilities of the robots are determined by the design specification of their modules. In this paper, we present the design specification of a CONRO module, a small, self-sufficient and relatively homogeneous module that can be connected to other modules to form complex robots. These robots have not only the capability of changing their shape (intra-robot metamorphing) but also can split into smaller robots or merge with other robots to create a single larger robot (interrobot metamorphing), i.e., CONRO robots can alter their shape and their size. Thus, heterogeneous robot teams can be built with homogeneous components. Furthermore, the CONRO robots can separate the reconfiguration stage from the locomotion stage, allowing the selection of configuration-dependent gaits. The locomotion and automatic inter-module docking capabilities of such robots were tested using tethered prototypes that can be reconfigured manually. We conclude the paper discussing the future work needed to fully realize the construction of these robots. Keywords: module, reconfigurable, autonomous, self-sufficient

Robot configuration design is hampered by the lack of established, well-known design rules, and designers cannot easily grasp the space of possible designs and the impact of all design variables on a robot’s performance. Realistically, a human can only design and evaluate several candidate configurations, though there may be thousands of competitive designs that should be investigated. In contrast, an automated approach to configuration synthesis can create tens of thousands of designs and measure the performance of each one without relying on previous experience or design rules. This thesis creates Darwin2K, an extensible, automated system for robot configuration synthesis. This research focuses on the development of synthesis capabilities required for many robot design problems: a flexible and effective synthesis algorithm, useful simulation capabilities, appropriate representation of robots and their properties, and the ability to accomodate application-specific synthesis needs. Darwin2K can synthesize and optimize kinematics, dynamics, structural geometry, actuator selection, and task and control parameters for a wide range of robots.

Planetary robotic explorers must plan and re-plan their actions as new mission and environmental information becomes available. Here an on-line action plan generation procedure is proposed. Action plans are scripts that include navigation, sensing, and task instructions. The plans are constructed from physically realizable actions, called action modules, that are assembled on-line to produce a successful action plan. The approach is based on a hierarchical selection process, which includes a genetic algorithm, to select a feasible mission action plan. These robots can be designed to be very capable in complex and rugged terrain. The proposed methodology attempts to aggressively utilize this capability, without risking a mission failure from the system becoming hungup or trapped. The method is demonstrated in the context of an example task and some guidelines that describe the methodology are presented. I. INTRODUCTION Mobile robots are a key component to the exploration of planetary...