Yong-Jin Liu

Yong-Jin Liu

Yong-Jin Liu is a tenured Full Professor with the Computer Science Department at Tsinghua University. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 2004 from Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. His research interests include computational geometry, computer graphics, computer aided design and pattern analysis.

EasySRRobot: An Easy-to-Build Self-Reconfigurable Robot with Optimized Design

Published in IEEE Robio, 2017

Abstract: Self-reconfigurable modular robots (SRRobot) that can change their shape and function in different environments according to different tasks have caught a lot of attention recently. Most existing prototypes use professional electronic components with relatively expensive cost and high barrier of fabrication. In this paper, we present a low-cost SRRobot with double-cube modules. Our system is easy-to-build even for novices as all electric components are off-the-shelf and the structural components in plastics are made by 3D printing. To have a better design of interior structures, we first construct a design space for all feasible solutions that satisfy the constraints of fabrication. Then, an optimized solution is found by an objective function incorporating the factors of space utilization, structural sound-ness and assembly complexity. Thirty EasySRRobot modules are manufactured and assembled. The functionality of our algorithm is demonstrated by comparing an optimized interior design with other two feasible designs and realizing different motions on an EasySRRobot with four modules.

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Finalist of Best Student Paper Award

Recommended citation: Minjing Yu, Yong-Jin Liu* and Charlie C.L. Wang. EasySRRobot: An Easy-to-Build Self-Reconfigurable Robot with Optimized Design. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (IEEE Robio 2017), pp.1094-1099.