TeCoBots Modular Robots Can Combine and Bend to Transform Shapes
Traditional modular reconfigurable robots can change shape like Lego blocks by combining and rearranging units, but most consist of rigid parts and cannot bend flexibly.
Conversely, snake-like continuum robots feature soft bodies that bend freely, but cannot join with other robots to form task-specific structures.
The research team combined a tensegrity structure utilizing the principles of human bones and tendons with gripper-based connection devices to integrate the advantages of both designs, jayupress.com reported.
TeCoBots use six light and rigid carbon-fiber rods woven tightly with an elastic thermoplastic polyurethane mesh, securing overall shape and elasticity without metal joints. Stacking four modules allows the robot to bend smoothly when a single string is pulled slightly, with each module curving about 60 degrees to reach up to 220 degrees backward when all four combine.
The body length also shrinks by more than 260 millimeters at once to pass through narrow gaps freely. Three-finger grippers equipped at both ends of the body serve simultaneously as hands to handle objects and as docking devices to grasp other robots.
“When docking, the grippers interlock like crossed fingers, exhibiting a strong joining force of up to maximum 42.9 newtons,” Zhao explained to jayupress.com, noting that docking with up to six TeCoBots in all directions allows transformations into various shapes such as chains, rings, and Y-structures.
In performance tests, TeCoBots demonstrated adaptive capabilities by hanging in the air by one gripper while lifting a 2.5-liter bottled water with the other gripper. The robots also passed outdoor terrain tests across eight surfaces including grass, gravel, hay, rocks, and soil.
Moving by shifting centers of gravity sequentially proved to be the most efficient movement method, recording a speed of 30 millimeters per second. Three TeCoBots cooperated to pull a cork out of a test tube and pour liquid into a beaker, and grasped and tore apart tissue paper.
A combined three-robot assembly demonstrated obstacle-clearing capabilities including moving while pushing objects, moving around circular pipes, and rolling across logs to cross streams. Current docking relies on remote control, but the research team has established initial autonomous docking capabilities.
A Raspberry Pi 5 computer mounted on the top module uses a camera to capture markers attached to companion robots, corrects its own direction, and grasps grippers to join them together. Mahmud Hasan Saicot, a doctoral student and first author of the paper, told jayupress.com that the team went through numerous outdoor tests to find small high-performance motors and optimal configurations that maintain long-term reliability.
“Having already moved past the stage where two robots dock autonomously, we will realize a robot swarm where dozens or hundreds move in groups to destinations and perform special missions,” Saicot told jayupress.com.
The research team views TeCoBots as an important foundation for a swarm of adaptable, multifunctional robots. Future plans include increasing movement speeds to expand applications across industrial fields from space exploration to search and rescue operations amid collapsed buildings.
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