A Comparative Study on Manipulator Development in Multi-robotic Systems

Robotic assembly of modular blocks has a great interest in multi-robotic studies in many disciplines. The existing studies primarily focus on context-specific tasks, especially in the self-assembly of robots, from an engineering perspective. However, considering a modular composition's entire design and fabrication process regarding mereological relationships is significant for the module's reuse in different pattern formations by mobile multi-robots. This study defines mobile robot swarms’ adaptability to the assembly-disassembly-reassembly (ADR) process to any-time change of the 3D pattern being assembled. Hence, the robot's manipulator needs to be compatible with picking up, carrying, attaching, and detaching the modules in the ADR process. This study questions the effects of the ADR process on manipulator development in multi-robotic systems. It aims to customize and develop manipulator systems beyond the existing gripper for multi-robot systems. Accordingly, it introduces a new conceptual understanding of manipulators’ taxonomy as friction-based and active and passive magnetic field-based end-effectors for the ADR process. Active indicates the use of electromagnets, whereas passive refers to using metal parts in the manipulator’s body. A physical experiment is conducted based on the above-stated taxonomies whose manipulators are printed in the Creality Ender3 and mounted to a mobile robot with a differential drive. The process is observed to discuss the introduced magnetic end-effectors, the system’s adaptability needs, and the pros and cons compared to the conventional gripper.