Life is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in modern science.
In nature, living organisms consists of DNA and large number of
organic molecules are able to form an organism by an intricate web
of molecular interactions.
As each molecule behaves following the causal rules in its rocal environment,
the process relies on autonomous and distributed process without any
centralized control.
Self-Assembly
Self-assembly is a process through which an organized structure spontaneously
forms from simple parts. This process is ubiquitous in nature, and its amazing
power is documented by many fascinating instances operating at various spatial
scales.
Despite its crucial importance, little is known about the mechanisms
underlying self-assembly and not much effort has been devoted to abstract
higher level design principles.
Taking inspiration from biological examples of self-assembly, we designed and
built a series of modular robotic systems consisting of cm size autonomous
plastic tiles capable of aggregation on the surface of water.
S. Miyashita, Z. Nagy, B. J. Nelson and R. Pfeifer (2009)
"The Influence of Shape on Parallel Self-Assembly", Entropy, Vol. 11(4), pp. 643-666. link
The ABC bottle neck
Contrary to expectations, what such systems encountered was technological
limitations, especially in realizing lightweight Actuators, Batteries, and
Connection mechanisms (so called "the ABC bottle neck").
No matter how complicated modules we create, unless we solve these problems
we cannot make a breakthrough -- that was our starting point in 2005.
Solving "A" and "B"
Light but strong -- in order to answer to this contradictory requirement,
we focused on small actuator, "cellphone vibrator".
One of the difficult part of using this actuator is it requires certain
amount of current, which is difficult to supply by small batteries.
The solution that we came up with is unique; what about using "bumping car
system" that we see in amusement park?
S. Miyashita, M. Kessler, and M. Lungarella (2008)
"How Morphology Affects Self-Assembly in a Stochastic Modular Robot",
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) pdf
Solving "C" - the biggest concern
Mechanical, Magnetic, ..
There are many connection mechanisms developed in this field.
It is such an essential issue how to create efficient connectors.
But as long as we use traditional techniques consist of motors,electrical
magnets, etc. we are sure to encounter the same problem, that is, heavy
but weak.
There must be someway that we can solve this problem but how?
The answer arrived all of a sudden; when a door of freezer was open one day.
From IROS2008
S. Miyashita, F. Casanova, M. Lungarella, and R. Pfeifer (2008)
"Peltier-Based Freeze-Thaw Connector for Waterborne Self-Assembly Systems",
IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) pdf
Some publications are currently in preparation.
Please be looking forward to the next outcome from us.
link
pdf