Recent developments in self-assembling multi-robot systems

Purpose of Review

This review studies recent developments towards the physical design and control of self-assembling multi-robot systems.

Recent Findings

A wide range of novel robotic systems have been developed lately, for potential applications in terrestrial, aquatic, and aerospace environments. They increasingly make use of connectors which enable modules to join with each other at arbitrary points instead of discrete locations. Although the majority of contemporary algorithms are shape-driven, an increased focus on task-driven algorithms is observed.

Summary

Self-assembling multi-robot systems allow the same set of robots to adopt specific morphologies for different tasks. The requirements for robots to be able to connect to each other, locomote, and communicate have led to a wide range of physical designs realising different trade-offs. While algorithms are validated extensively in simulation, only a small portion are yet tested on real robotic platforms. Future research should investigate the real-world application of these systems, possibly aided by the introduction of standardised and open hardware.