This repository hosts a set of tools which can be used to simulate modular robot reconfiguration. Example use cases include:
- Finding the shortest path from an initial configuration to a desired configuration
- Analyzing and comparing the effectiveness of different models (ex: sliding vs pivoting)
- Determining if a configuration is "super-rigid"
- Testing metamodules
This section briefly describes how to find a shortest path between two configurations. For more specific information about each step of the process, see the relevant tools wiki page.
- Set up initial and desired configurations using the module painter in MRWT.
- Run the web version of Pathfinder from MRWT.
- If the web version successfully finds a path, step 3 happens automatically.
- Otherwise, try running the desktop version of Pathfinder with the configurations.
- Visualize the generated path in MRWT's viewer mode.
The functionality that used to be split among 3 tools has now been merged and made available from WebVis, which was consequently renamed to the Modular Robotics Web Tool. Since it is a web application, there is no need to install anything in order to use it.
In some cases you may still want to install and compile the desktop version of Pathfinder, especially when the reconfiguration causes the online version to run out of memory before it can find a path. The process for installing Pathfinder is described here.
Modular Robotics Web Tool (MRWT) has two modes: viewer and painter mode. Viewer mode helps validate paths found using Pathfinder by animating the sequence of moves found. Painter mode allows us to plan out possible configurations in the MRWT. MRWT is also able to run a web version of Pathfinder.
A sequence of moves generated by Pathfinder being animated in WebVis
Pathfinder will find the shortest path between two configurations, if such a path exists. For most short reconfiguration sequences, the web version should be able to find the shortest path without any problems, but with longer sequences the desktop version is better suited for the task since it doesn't have such strict memory constraints.
An example run of Pathfinder
Note: 3DTiler's functionality has been merged into MRWT.
3DTiler can be used to set up configurations for modular robots, plan out possible configurations, or just make stuff out of cubes (or rhombic dodecahedra).
A configuration built in 3DTiler