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This paper introduces a novel modular reconfigurable robot (MRR) that integrates a tensegrity-based compliant body with claw-based connection mechanisms, allowing for both independent manipulation and cooperative behaviors among multiple robots. The system enables self-reconfiguration into various morphologies, such as chains and loops, tailored for specific tasks and environments, significantly enhancing operational versatility. Experimental demonstrations highlight the robots' effectiveness in coordinated object manipulation, multimodal locomotion, and loco-manipulation in real-world scenarios, showcasing their potential for diverse applications in fields like manufacturing and search-and-rescue operations.
Tensegrity robots can morph into task-specific configurations, revolutionizing cooperative robotic behaviors in dynamic environments.
Robots that can change their morphologies and behaviors for different tasks and environments hold great promise for adaptable, multifunctional systems. Modular reconfigurable robots (MRRs) can achieve such functionalities by docking and rearranging individual units, but most rely on rigid modules that lack structural compliance, resulting in limited capabilities. Continuum robots offer compliance through flexible backbones, yet they cannot self-reconfigure into task-adaptive multi-robot configurations. Here, we introduce an MRR that unifies the advantages of both architectures by combining a tensegrity-based compliant body with claw-based connection mechanisms. Each robot can manipulate and locomote independently, and multiple robots can self-reconfigure into different morphologies (e.g., chains, loops, branches) for cooperative manipulation and locomotion. We demonstrate the robots'capability across diverse tasks and environments, including coordinated object manipulation and transport, multimodal locomotion, and loco-manipulation in real-world scenarios. These results lay a foundation for adaptable and multifunctional robotic collectives, with broad potential applications in manufacturing, space exploration, and search-and-rescue operations.
