CuBot-STT: Simultaneously Transport and Tighten for Lattice-type Modular Reconfiguration Robot

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Article Summary

Lattice-type modular reconfigurable robots rearrange standardized modules across tasks. Dedicated transport robots reduce module weight and cost by eliminating module level reconfiguration actuators. But existing systems use low capacity connections or internal fastening robots that occupy space for functional components. This paper presents CuBot-STT, which integrates module transport, interface locking, and release in one external robot. Cubic modules provide structural support and $24\,\mathrm{V}$ power distribution. On each face, a gear transmission converts one external input into motion of four helical locking points, preserving internal space. The robot uses alternating foot support, a gripper for module handling, and a tightening head for interface actuation. The controller coordinates two-foot support and module locking through continuous constraint transfers. The planner decomposes relocation costs into an analytical lower bound and a residual learned through expert-guided, goal conditioned Q-learning. Contact face $A^*$ search expands relocation sequences into robot primitives satisfying connectivity, asymmetric manipulation, and foot stance constraints. Experiments demonstrate normal and tangential interface capacities of $300\,\mathrm{N}$ and $490\,\mathrm{N}$, electrical continuity across six modules, and autonomous reconfiguration of an 11-module lattice. Planning benchmarks show superior search efficiency over analytical guidance and bidirectional heuristic search, with generalization beyond training lattice sizes without fine-tuning.

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