Resumen
The article focuses on research related to self-reconfiguring robots. The author says that mimicking the adaptability of living biological cells, robot modules will reconfigure themselves toward a common purpose within the limits imposed by the local environment. Robot designed for a single purpose can perform some specific task well but poorly on some other task, especially in a different environment. Self-reconfiguring robot systems employ physical mechanisms allowing modules to dynamically and automatically configure and reconfigure themselves into more complex forms. Important design issues include communication between modules, actuator power, and the method used to supply electrical power to the system. A Molecule robot consists of multiple units called Molecules, each consisting of two atoms the size of an apple linked by a rigid connection called a bond. Algorithmic challenges involved in achieving self-reconfiguring robotic systems in a distributed fashion concern the metamorphosis of a given structure into a desired structure and how to use self-reconfiguration to implement multiple locomotion and manipulation gaits.