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In this work, we explore emergent behaviors by swarms of anonymous, homogeneous, non-communicating, reactive robots that do not know their global position and have limited relative sensing. We introduce a novel method that enables such…
Despite their growing popularity, swarms of robots remain limited by the operating time of each individual. We present algorithms which allow a human to sculpt a swarm of robots into a shape that persists in space perpetually, independent…
Generating intelligent robot behavior in contact-rich settings is a research problem where zeroth-order methods currently prevail. A major contributor to the success of such methods is their robustness in the face of non-smooth and…
We present experimental results on the single file motion of a group of robots interacting with each other through position sensors. We successfully replicate the fundamental diagram typical of these systems, with a transition from free…
Most existing robot formation problems seek a target formation of a certain \emph{minimal} and, thus, efficient structure. Examples include the Gathering and the Chain-Formation problem. In this work, we study formation problems that try to…
In this paper we consider the coverage control problem for a team of wire-traversing robots. The two-dimensional motion of robots moving in a planar environment has to be projected to one-dimensional manifolds representing the wires.…
A metamorphic robotic system is an aggregate of homogeneous robot units which can individually and selectively locomote in such a way as to change the global shape of the system. We introduce a mathematical framework for defining and…
Autonomy for robots interacting with sand will enable a wide range of beneficial behaviors, from earth moving for construction and farming vehicles to navigating rough terrain for Mars rovers. The goal of this work is to shape sand into…
In unstructured environments, robots run the risk of unexpected collisions. How well they react to these events is determined by how transparent they are to collisions. Transparency is affected by structural properties as well as sensing…
In this article, we investigate symmetry properties of distributed systems of mobile robots. We consider a swarm of $n\in\mathbb{N}$ robots in the $\mathcal{OBLOT}$ model and analyze their collective $\mathcal{F}$sync dynamics using of…
This paper introduces a distributed leaderless swarm formation control framework to address the problem of collectively driving a swarm of robots to track a time-varying formation. The swarm's formation is captured by the trajectory of an…
Continuum and soft robots can leverage complex actuator shapes to take on useful shapes while actuating only a few of their many degrees of freedom. Continuum robots that also grow increase the range of potential shapes that can be actuated…
Shape formation is a basic distributed problem for systems of computational mobile entities. Intensively studied for systems of autonomous mobile robots, it has recently been investigated in the realm of programmable matter. Namely, it has…
Internal computational models of physical bodies are fundamental to the ability of robots and animals alike to plan and control their actions. These "self-models" allow robots to consider outcomes of multiple possible future actions,…
We present a comprehensive framework for studying and leveraging morphological symmetries in robotic systems. These are intrinsic properties of the robot's morphology, frequently observed in animal biology and robotics, which stem from the…
In the general pattern formation (GPF) problem, a swarm of simple autonomous, disoriented robots must form a given pattern. The robots' simplicity imply a strong limitation: When the initial configuration is rotationally symmetric, only…
The Meeting problem for $k\geq 2$ searchers in a polygon $P$ (possibly with holes) consists in making the searchers move within $P$, according to a distributed algorithm, in such a way that at least two of them eventually come to see each…
As a simple and robust mobile robot base, differential drive robots that can be modelled as a kinematic unicycle find significant applications in logistics and service robotics in both industrial and domestic settings. Safe robot navigation…
Soft robots can safely interact with environments because of their mechanical compliance. Self-collision is also employed in the modern design of soft robots to enhance their performance during different tasks. However, developing an…
Navigation functions provide both path and motion planning, which can be used to ensure obstacle avoidance and convergence in the sphere world. When dealing with complex and realistic scenarios, constructing a transformation to the sphere…