Motion Planning for Variable Topology Truss Modular Robot

Self-reconfigurable modular robots are composed of many modules that can be rearranged into various structures with respect to different activities and tasks. The variable topology truss (VTT) is a class of modular truss robot. These robots are able to change their shape by not only controlling joint positions which is similar to robots with fixed morphologies, but also reconfiguring the connections among modules in order to change their morphologies. Motion planning for VTT robots is difficult due to their non-fixed morphologies, high-dimensionality, potential for self-collision, and complex motion constraints. In this paper, a new motion planning algorithm to dramatically alter the structure of a VTT is presented, as well as some comparative tests to show its effectiveness.