This paper presents a novel modular robot system that can self-reconfigure to achieve omnidirectional movements for collaborative object transportation. Each robotic module is equipped with a steerable omni-wheel for navigation and is shaped as a regular icositetragon with a permanent magnet installed on each corner for stable docking. After aggregating multiple modules and forming a structure that can cage a target object, we have developed an optimization-based method to compute the distribution of all wheels' heading directions, which enables efficient omnidirectional movements of the structure. By implementing a hierarchical controller on our prototyped system in both simulation and experiment, we validated the trajectory tracking performance of an individual module and a team of six modules in multiple navigation and collaborative object transportation settings. The results demonstrate that the proposed system can maintain a stable caging formation and achieve smooth transportation, indicating the effectiveness of our hardware and locomotion designs.

翻译：本文提出了一种新型模块化机器人系统，该系统能够通过自我重构实现全向运动，以协同运输物体。每个机器人模块配备可转向全向轮用于导航，外形为规则二十四边形，每个角上安装永磁体以实现稳定对接。在将多个模块聚合形成可包围目标物体的结构后，我们开发了一种基于优化的方法计算所有车轮方向分布，从而实现该结构的高效全向运动。通过在仿真和实验中对我们原型系统实施分层控制，我们验证了单个模块及六模块团队在多种导航与协同物体运输场景下的轨迹跟踪性能。结果表明，所提系统能够维持稳定包围形态并实现平滑运输，验证了本硬件与运动设计的有效性。