| In untraditional environments and unexpected situations, it is not always possible for a fixed-architecture robot to meet all the task requirements. Self-assembly enables free bodies to autonomously join together and complete a task that would otherwise not be achievable with the independent modules. The main theme of this thesis is to investigate the possibility of converting frail and inflexible mobile robots to a single flexible modular robot, and conversely, to split up a long and slow structure into separate fast modules. To prove the possibility of having such a system, we propose a novel connection mechanism, as well as a vision-based docking guidance system. This docking system along with a parking control algorithm allow single articulated-steering mobile robots to autonomously connect and disconnect. So, the concept of this work lies at the intersection between modular and wheeled mobile robotic systems. The goal is to improve the performance of mobile robots by autonomously changing their locomotion method to best fit the terrain conditions. |
