ModLab UPenn the modular robotics laboratory at the university of pennsylvania
Author Archive
Autonomous Modular Robots
The theoretical ability of modular robots to reconfigure in response to complex tasks in a priori unknown environments has frequently been cited as an advantage and remains a major motivator for work in the field. We present a modular robot system capable of autonomously completing high-level tasks by reactively reconfiguring to meet the needs of […]
Environment Augmentation with Modular Robots
We present a system enabling a modular robot to autonomously build structures in order to accomplish high-level tasks. Building structures allows the robot to surmount large obstacles, expanding the set of tasks it can perform. This addresses a common weakness of modular robot systems, which often struggle to traverse large obstacles. This paper presents the […]
PaintPots
The PaintPot manufacturing process is a new way to create low-cost, low-profile, highly customizable potentiometers for position sensing in robotic applications. It uses widely accessible materials, requires no special expertise, and creates custom potentiometers in a variety of shapes and sizes, including curved surfaces.
The EP-Face Connector
We present the EP-Face connector, a novel connector for hybrid chain-lattice type modular robots that is high- strength (88.4N), compact, fast, power efficient, and robust to position errors.
An End-to-End System for Accomplishing Tasks with Modular Robots
Best Systems Paper, RSS 2016. In this paper, we present an end-to-end system for addressing tasks with modular robots, and demonstrate that it is capable of accomplishing challenging multi-part tasks in hardware experiments.
SMORES-EP
SMORES-EP is a modular robot designed and built at the University of Pennsylvania, and used by researchers at Penn and Cornell. SMORES stands for Self-Assembling MOdular Robot for Extreme Shapeshifting, and EP refers to the Electro-Permanent magnets the modules use to connect.
Computer-Aided Compositional Design and Verification for Modular Robots
To take full advantage of the flexibility of a modular robot system, users must be able to create and verify new configurations and behaviors quickly. We have developed a design framework that facilitates rapid creation of new configurations and behaviors through composition of existing ones, and tools to verify configurations and behaviors as they are […]
Modular Robot Design Embedding
We have developed an algorithm that automatically detects embeddability of modular robot configurations. Simply put, a given design embeds another design if it can replicate its structure, and therefore simulate its functionality. We introduce a novel graph representation for modular robots, and formalize the notion of embedding through topological and kinematic conditions. Our algorithm involves […]
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University of Pennsylvania | Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
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