Modular Reconfigurable Robot Distributed Control System Design

This paper presents a distributed control system for modular reconfigurable robot. The implementation of auto-connecting is a base for future work on self-reconfiguration of modular reconfigurable robot.Firstly, this paper describes the concept, attributes, development and applications of modular reconfigurable robot which represents a front direction of robot development. We present a modular distributed control system for modular reconfigurable robot because traditional control systems are not fit for it.Secondly, this paper describes in details the hardware and software design of modular distributed control system. The following six principles are followed in the hardware design in order to implement the attributes of modular reconfigurable robot: modularity, good controller, good communication network, mini size, low power and low cost. The DSP controller TMS320LF2406 is very suitable for brushless DC motor control. The software design also follows the principle of modularity. The communication network is the wireless communication network which is based on RS-485.Lastly, this paper presents the simulation and experiments of the control system. The simulation of the brushless DC motor control method is helpful to test the feasibility of the control method and to choose approximately the PID parameters. The inverse kinematics experiment can test the real control result. The experiment process and result is described in details in the end of this paper.