Modular and reconfigurable mobile robotics

With increasing demand on reliable robotic platforms that can alleviate the burden of daily painstaking tasks, researchers have focused their effort towards developing robotic platforms that possess a high level of autonomy and versatility in function. These robots, capable of operating either individually or in a group, also possess the structural modular morphology that enables them to adapt to the unstructured nature of a real environment. Over the past two decades, significant work has been published in this field, particularly in the aspects of autonomy, mobility and docking. This paper reviews the primary methods in the literature related to the fields of modular and reconfigurable mobile robotics. By bringing together aspects of modularity, including docking and autonomy, and synthesizing the most relevant findings, there is optimism that a more complete understanding of this field will serve as a starting ground for innovation and integration of such technology in the urban environment. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.