Modular fluidic propulsion robots

Abstract

Modular Fluidic Propulsion (MFP) is a novel concept for modular reconfigurable robots that promises to combine effective propulsion, a large reconfiguration space, and a scalable design.

MFP robots are modular fluid networks. To propel, they route fluid through themselves. Both hydraulic and pneumatic implementations are considered. The robots are tasked to move towards a goal.

We present a decentralised controller that runs independently on each module face, uses two bits of sensory information and requires neither run-time memory, nor communication.

We prove that 2D MFP robots reach the goal or a morphology-dependent distance from it, if of orthogonally convex or arbitrary shape, respectively.

We present a 2D hydraulic MFP prototype and show, experimentally, that it succeeds in reaching the goal in 90% of trials, and that 71% less energy is expended when modules can communicate. Moreover, in simulations with 3D hydraulic MFP robots, the decentralised controller performs almost as well as the state-of-the-art, centralised controller.

Given the simplicity of the hardware requirements, the MFP concept could pave the way for modular robots to be applied at the sub-centimetre-scale, where effective modular propulsion systems have not been demonstrated.