Communications of the ACM - Robots: intelligence, versatility, adaptivity
Recent Advances in Augmented Reality
IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications
Computer
Design of the ATRON lattice-based self-reconfigurable robot
Autonomous Robots
The reacTable: exploring the synergy between live music performance and tabletop tangible interfaces
Proceedings of the 1st international conference on Tangible and embedded interaction
Learning to Move in Modular Robots using Central Pattern Generators and Online Optimization
International Journal of Robotics Research
Roombots: reconfigurable robots for adaptive furniture
IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine
Distributed online learning of central pattern generators in modular robots
SAB'10 Proceedings of the 11th international conference on Simulation of adaptive behavior: from animals to animats
The X2 modular evolutionary robotics platform
ICES'10 Proceedings of the 9th international conference on Evolvable systems: from biology to hardware
Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems
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We aim at merging technologies from information technology, roomware, and robotics in order to design adaptive and intelligent furniture. This paper presents design principles for our modular robots, called Roombots, as future building blocks for furniture that moves and self-reconfigures. The reconfiguration is done using dynamic connection and disconnection of modules and rotations of the degrees of freedom. We are furthermore interested in applying Roombots towards adaptive behaviour, such as online learning of locomotion patterns. To create coordinated and efficient gait patterns, we use a Central Pattern Generator (CPG) approach, which can easily be optimized by any gradient-free optimization algorithm. To provide a hardware framework we present the mechanical design of the Roombots modules and an active connection mechanism based on physical latches. Further we discuss the application of our Roombots modules as pieces of a homogenic or heterogenic mix of building blocks for static structures.