HoverBots: Precise Locomotion Using Robots That Are Designed for Manufacturability
Scaling up robot swarms to collectives of hundreds or even thousands without sacrificing sensing, processing, and locomotion capabilities is a challenging problem. Low-cost robots are potentially scalable, but the majority of existing systems have limited capabilities, and these limitations substant...
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doaj-bd05dc7213dd468286003622b58fca372020-11-24T22:04:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Robotics and AI2296-91442017-11-01410.3389/frobt.2017.00055286558HoverBots: Precise Locomotion Using Robots That Are Designed for ManufacturabilityMarkus P. Nemitz0Markus P. Nemitz1Mohammed E. Sayed2John Mamish3Gonzalo Ferrer4Lijun Teng5Ross M. McKenzie6Alfred O. Hero7Edwin Olson8Adam A. Stokes9School of Engineering, Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesSchool of Engineering, Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesSchool of Engineering, Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomSchool of Engineering, Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesSchool of Engineering, Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomScaling up robot swarms to collectives of hundreds or even thousands without sacrificing sensing, processing, and locomotion capabilities is a challenging problem. Low-cost robots are potentially scalable, but the majority of existing systems have limited capabilities, and these limitations substantially constrain the type of experiments that could be performed by robotics researchers. As an alternative to increasing the quantity of robots by reducing their functionality, we have developed a new technology that delivers increased functionality at low-cost. In this study, we present a comprehensive literature review on the most commonly used locomotion strategies of swarm robotic systems. We introduce a new type of low-friction locomotion—active low-friction locomotion—and we show its first implementation in the HoverBot system. The HoverBot system consists of an air levitation and magnet table, and a HoverBot agent. HoverBot agents are levitating circuit boards that we have equipped with an array of planar coils and a Hall-effect sensor. The HoverBot agent uses its coils to pull itself toward magnetic anchors that are embedded into a levitation table. These robots use active low-friction locomotion; consist of only surface-mount components; circumvent actuator calibration; are capable of odometry by using a single Hall-effect sensor; and perform precise movement. We conducted three hours of experimental evaluation of the HoverBot system in which we observed the system performing more than 10,000 steps. We also demonstrate formation movement, random collision, and straight collisions with two robots. This study demonstrates that active low-friction locomotion is an alternative to wheeled and slip-stick locomotion in the field of swarm robotics.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frobt.2017.00055/fullHoverBotswarm robotsdesign for manufacturabilitylow-friction locomotionprecise locomotionrobot testbed |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Markus P. Nemitz Markus P. Nemitz Mohammed E. Sayed John Mamish Gonzalo Ferrer Lijun Teng Ross M. McKenzie Alfred O. Hero Edwin Olson Adam A. Stokes |
spellingShingle |
Markus P. Nemitz Markus P. Nemitz Mohammed E. Sayed John Mamish Gonzalo Ferrer Lijun Teng Ross M. McKenzie Alfred O. Hero Edwin Olson Adam A. Stokes HoverBots: Precise Locomotion Using Robots That Are Designed for Manufacturability Frontiers in Robotics and AI HoverBot swarm robots design for manufacturability low-friction locomotion precise locomotion robot testbed |
author_facet |
Markus P. Nemitz Markus P. Nemitz Mohammed E. Sayed John Mamish Gonzalo Ferrer Lijun Teng Ross M. McKenzie Alfred O. Hero Edwin Olson Adam A. Stokes |
author_sort |
Markus P. Nemitz |
title |
HoverBots: Precise Locomotion Using Robots That Are Designed for Manufacturability |
title_short |
HoverBots: Precise Locomotion Using Robots That Are Designed for Manufacturability |
title_full |
HoverBots: Precise Locomotion Using Robots That Are Designed for Manufacturability |
title_fullStr |
HoverBots: Precise Locomotion Using Robots That Are Designed for Manufacturability |
title_full_unstemmed |
HoverBots: Precise Locomotion Using Robots That Are Designed for Manufacturability |
title_sort |
hoverbots: precise locomotion using robots that are designed for manufacturability |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Robotics and AI |
issn |
2296-9144 |
publishDate |
2017-11-01 |
description |
Scaling up robot swarms to collectives of hundreds or even thousands without sacrificing sensing, processing, and locomotion capabilities is a challenging problem. Low-cost robots are potentially scalable, but the majority of existing systems have limited capabilities, and these limitations substantially constrain the type of experiments that could be performed by robotics researchers. As an alternative to increasing the quantity of robots by reducing their functionality, we have developed a new technology that delivers increased functionality at low-cost. In this study, we present a comprehensive literature review on the most commonly used locomotion strategies of swarm robotic systems. We introduce a new type of low-friction locomotion—active low-friction locomotion—and we show its first implementation in the HoverBot system. The HoverBot system consists of an air levitation and magnet table, and a HoverBot agent. HoverBot agents are levitating circuit boards that we have equipped with an array of planar coils and a Hall-effect sensor. The HoverBot agent uses its coils to pull itself toward magnetic anchors that are embedded into a levitation table. These robots use active low-friction locomotion; consist of only surface-mount components; circumvent actuator calibration; are capable of odometry by using a single Hall-effect sensor; and perform precise movement. We conducted three hours of experimental evaluation of the HoverBot system in which we observed the system performing more than 10,000 steps. We also demonstrate formation movement, random collision, and straight collisions with two robots. This study demonstrates that active low-friction locomotion is an alternative to wheeled and slip-stick locomotion in the field of swarm robotics. |
topic |
HoverBot swarm robots design for manufacturability low-friction locomotion precise locomotion robot testbed |
url |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frobt.2017.00055/full |
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