A Spherical Self-reconfigurable Modular Robot Joint with Electromechanical Connector on Vision-guided Docking

Abstract

the modular self-reconfigurable robot is a relatively cutting-edge robot with high research value. Modular self-reconfigurable robot is a robot system composed of several unit modules connected and capable of autonomous deformation and reconfiguration. Meta-module is the basic unit and the most important component of the modular self-reconfigurable robot. Each module has complete functions such as docking, perception, motion, and control. Compared with traditional robots, our modular robots have the characteristics of free docking, deformable reconfiguration, and can be changed into different configurations to adapt to different tasks in robot applications. In this paper, we propose a spherical self-reconfigurable robot modular joint with electromechanical connector. The robot joint has three degrees of freedom and can be used as a unit module of a self-reconfigurable robot system to form self-reconfigurable robots with different configurations. An electromechanical connector with a single degree of freedom is proposed for vision-guided docking and electromechanical connection.