Modulus

All those who have seen Transformers 2 would appreciate the benefits and otherwise varied range of applications that modular robotics could have. Yeah, we are referring to the planar robot that is built by thousands of tiny spherical robot-like entities.

Well, we aren’t quite there yet; but our SOE is, in a way, a step in that direction. The purpose of our project is to build identical modules, which will eventually ‘bond’ with each other and perform the same functions that conventional robots achieve today. Of course, this approach has its own advantages and disadvantages.

One of the main advantages that is quite obvious, is that we can have the same set of objects configure into different shapes and adapt to situations as is needed. This could also lead to reduced transportation costs when it comes to larger systems because these modules can be carried disassembled to the site and assembled onsite itself.

Another major plus is that if a few of the modules fail, then we could have other modules replace them and continue carrying out the function that the whole configuration was built to do in the first place, because each module is meant to be identical in every way. This would not let the work come to a halt, which is more often than not the case with machines being used today since each part of the machine is tailor-made to carry out a specific function.

One of the major drawbacks of this design is that current technology does not support feasible methods for having large amounts of energy contained in a small volume. This, in turn, severely hampers the possibilities of a design concept such as the one we wish to realize.

Nevertheless, there is a lot we have planned to achieve and hopefully, will achieve. Some of these include building 6 identical modules and 7 different configurations.