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Herd of assembled robots shows the potential to create larger structures


Herd of assembled robots shows the potential to create larger structures

Researchers at MIT have taken important steps towards creating robots that can realistically and economically assemble almost anything, including things much larger than themselves, from the ground up. from building access to larger robots. The new system consists of large, usable structures built from an array of identical small subunits called voxels (the volumetric equivalent of a 2-D pixel). Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Researchers at MIT have taken important steps towards creating robots that can realistically and economically assemble almost anything, including things much larger than themselves, from the ground up. from building access to larger robots.

The new work, from MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA), builds on years of research, including recent studies demonstrating that objects such as airplane wings can deform and a Functional racing cars can be assembled from the same lightweight pieces—and robots and devices can be built to do some of this assembly work. Now, the team has shown that both the assembly bot and the components of the structure being built can be made from the same subunit, and that the robot can move independently in large numbers to complete the task. quickly into large-scale assemblies.

New work reported in the magazine Natural Communication Engineeringin a paper by CBA doctoral student Amira Abdel-Rahman, CBA Professor and Director Neil Gershenfeld, and three others.

A fully automated, self-replicating robot assembly system capable of assembling larger structures, including larger robots, and planning the best building sequence is still far away, says Gershenfeld. Another year. However, the new work has made important strides towards that goal, including figuring out the complex tasks of when to build more robots and their dimensions, as well as how to organize them. Organize groups of robots of different sizes to build an efficient structure without collision. together.

As in previous tests, the new system consists of large, usable structures built from a series of identical small subunits called voxels (volumetric equivalent of 2D pixels). . But while voxels were previously just pieces of pure mechanical structure, the team has now developed complex voxels where each voxel can carry both energy and data from one unit to another. This could allow the construction of structures that can not only bear loads but also do work, such as lifting, moving, and manipulating materials—including the voxels themselves.

“When we build these structures, you have to build intelligence,” says Gershenfeld. Whereas earlier versions of assembler bots were connected by bundles of wires to their power and control system, “what emerged was the idea of ​​electronic structure—generating voxels that transmit energy and data as well as forces.” Looking at the new system in action, he points out, “No wires. Only structure.”

The robots themselves consist of a series of end-to-end connected holograms. They can take another voxel using attachment points at one end, and then move like a measuring worm to the desired location, where the voxel can be attached to the existing structure. grow and liberate there.

Gershenfeld explained that although the previous system demonstrated by members of his group could in principle construct arbitrarily large structures, when the size of those structures reached a certain point compared Given the size of the assembly robot, the process will become increasingly inefficient due to the ever-longer paths each bot will have to take to get each piece to its destination.

At that point, with the new system, the bots might decide it’s time to build a larger version of themselves that can reach longer distances and reduce travel time. An even larger structure may require such an extra step, with new larger robots creating larger ones, while structural components include many fine details. may require the smallest number of robots.






Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

When these robotic devices assemble something, says Abdel-Rahman, they face choices at every step: “It can build a structure, or it can build a structure. make another robot of the same size, or it can build a larger one.” Part of the work the researchers are focusing on is creating algorithms for decision-making such as so.

“For example, if you want to build a cone or semi-sphere,” she says, “how do you start planning the path and divide this shape” into different areas that other bots How can each other work on it? The software they’ve developed allows someone to input a shape and get outputs showing where to place the first block and each block after that, based on how far it needs to be traversed.

There are thousands of papers published on robot route planning, says Gershenfeld. “But the next step, the robot has to make a decision to build another robot or a different kind of robot—that’s new. There’s really nothing before that.”

Although the test system can conduct assembly and includes power and data links, in current versions the connectors between the small subunits are not strong enough to withstand the required loads. The team, which includes graduate student Miana Smith, is currently focused on developing more robust connectors.

“These robots can walk and put parts, but we’re almost—but not quite—to the point where one of these robots makes another and it walks away,” says Gershenfeld. And that’s fine-tuning everything, like the force of the actuator and the strength of the joints. … But it’s far enough that these are the parts that will lead to it.”

Finally, such systems can be used to build a wide variety of large, high-value structures. For example, the way airplanes are built today involves giant factories with rigs much larger than the parts they build, and then “when you build a giant jet you need giant jets to carry parts of the plane.” jumbo jet to build it,” says Gershenfeld.With a system like this built from small parts assembled by tiny robots, “The final assembly of the aircraft is the only assembly. best.”

Likewise, in making a new car, “you can spend a year on the tool” before the first car is actually built, he says. The new system will skip that whole process. Such a potential effect is why Gershenfeld and his students have worked closely with car companies, aeronautics and NASA. But even the relatively low-tech construction industry could benefit.

While more and more people are interested in 3D printed homes, today those homes require printers that are larger or larger than the house being built. Again, the potential for such structures to instead be assembled by swarms of small robots could be beneficial. And the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is also interested in work on the possible construction of coastal protection structures against erosion and sea level rise.

Aaron Becker, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Houston who was not involved in the study, called the paper “a run at home—[offering] an innovative hardware system, a new way of thinking about swarm scaling, and rigorous algorithms.”

Becker adds: “This article looks at a key area of ​​reconfigurable systems: how to rapidly scale the robotics workforce and use it to efficiently assemble This is the first work I’ve seen that tackles the problem from a whole new perspective—using a rough set of elements. robot parts to build a set of robots sized optimized to build the desired structure (and other robots) as quickly as possible.”

More information:
Amira Abdel-Rahman et al, Self-replicating hierarchical modular robot swarm, Communication Engineering (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s44172-022-00034-3

This story is republished with permission from MIT News (web.mit.edu/newsoffice/), a popular website covering MIT research, innovation, and teaching.

quote: Herd of assembled robots showing the potential to create larger structures (2022, 22 November) retrieved 22 November 2022 from https://techxplore.com/news/2022-11-flocks- robots-potential-larger.html

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