Fractal Robots
Introduction:
A fractal is anything which has a substantial measure of exact self-resemblance that is any part of its body will be alike to the whole object.
Fractal robots are made of cubic bricks having electronics and mechanical components in them. They can reconfigure themselves and can be controlled by a computer. These machines can change their shape from one object to another. This technology is slowly picking up as it has the potential to work like humans in every field like research, medicine, construction, etc. Fractal robot technology is also known as digital matter control and implementation. Some Fractal Robots also have self-repairing capabilities, thus, minimizing human interference. [1]
Construction:
One of the main goals of the Fractal Robot is to make the design as simple as possible with minimal moving parts so that it can be produced on a mass scale at a really low cost. Generally, the body is made up of plastics and metals. However, ceramics and even clay is used at times to make it more environmentally friendly. The robotic cubes are assembled from face plates. These plates are then bolted to a cubic frame.
Hence, these cubes are generally hollow. The plates have the mechanisms in them. Each surface of the cube has an electrical contact pad to communicate as well as transmit power to the other robotic cubes. The mechanisms are built into the plates.
There are slots placed at an angle of 45 degrees on the edges of the cube. Petals are also placed in each face at the same angle and have serrated edges. They are engaged by either a gear wheel or a large screw thread driven by a single motor. Petals can also be driven as a pair by a single motor with the help of a flexible metal strip. Hence, the cubes can slide along.
Computer Control:
Generally, each robotic cube comes with a microcontroller inside to perform basic operations like control of the internal mechanism and communication. Due to its design, the only movements the robotic cube must do is move left, right, up, down, etc. with respect to each other compared to other types of robots that need complex mechanisms and mathematical modelling. Fractal Robots run on Fractal O.S.
The Fractal architecture dominates the core functions of the Fractal O.S. All the data that is available to the Fractal O.S. is stored in fractal data structures that permit compatibility and conversions.
Fractal OS:
This OS converts the written code into machine commands. The Fractal OS has a number of features like transparent data communication, data compression and awareness of built-in self-repair. Generally, it has RAM, ROM and some counters as a part of its internal design. [2]
Fractal Bus:
This permits the software and the hardware to merge seamlessly into one unified data structure.
Movement Methods:
There are many designing methods for cubes and are of various sizes, although the movement methods are always similar. The cube obeys instructions to move right, left, forward, backward, up, and down.
If the cube cannot perform a function, then it turns back. If it cannot perform even that, then the software in the cube starts self-repair algorithms.
Pick and place: instructions are issued for a compilation of cubes telling every cube where to exit. A command of “cube 144 move left by 5 positions” results in only one cube moving in the entire machine. Entire collection of movements needed to perform operations are worked out and stored exactly like conventional robots’ store movement paths.
N- streamers: A cube is pushed from the outside and an additional cube is shifted into the empty place. The shifted cube is connected to the end of the rising rod & pushed out once more to the rising rod. Can be used for bridge construction.
L-streamers: L-form cubes are denoted with numbers 4, 5 and 6 and these numbers are connected to a rod denoted with numbers 1, 2 and 3. A new cube ‘7’ is attached so that the rod develops with one cube. The 6 and 7 cubes are shifted to the positions of 5, 6, and 7 to form an L-shape. [3]
Self-Repair:
For this system to work, the cube must be partially dismantled and then re-assembled at a custom robot assembly station. The cubic robot is normally built from six plates that have been bolted together.
When large numbers of cubes are involved, these plates (mechanisms) can be stacked onto a conveyor belt system and assembled into the whole unit by robotic assembly station to save space and storage. (By reversing the process, fractal robots can be dismantled and stored away until needed.) If any robotic cubes are damaged, they can be brought back to the assembly station by other robotic cubes, dismantled into component plates, tested and then re-assembled with plates that are fully operational. Potentially all kinds of things can go wrong and whole cubes may have to be discarded in the worst case. But based on probabilities, not all plates are likely to be damaged, and hence the resilience of this system is much improved over self-repair by cube level replacement. [4]
Applications:
• Bridge Building
• Fire Fighting
• Defense Technology
• Medical Applications
Limitations:
• Technology is still in infancy
• Current cost is very high ($1000 per cube for the 1st generation of cubes, after which it will reduce to $100 or so).
• Needs very precise and flexible controlling software [5]
Bibliography:
[1], [4]: www.ijritcc.com
[2], [5]: www.elprocus.com
[3]: www.slideshare.net
