Communication Method of Cellular Robotics CEBOT as a Selforganizing Robotic System

Thc Dynamically Rcconflgurahlc Robotic Systcm (1)IllCS) Is a ncw kind ol' robotlr system whlch Is ablr to reconrlguratc I Lscl f to optimal structure dcpending on purpose and environment. To realize this concept, we has proposed CEBOT (Cellular Robotics). Communication is needed in CEBOT system as follows: When cells are separated , communication master cell needs to know other cell's function, position and determine the target cell for docking. A mobile cells should be able to coordinate with other mobile cells. When cells are docked, forming cell structure/module, a master cell should control bending joint cell and know of which cells the construction is composed. In this paper, we propose a communication protocol for both cases with optical sensor applicable to CEBOT. Some experimental results are shown by realizing the proposed communication method between cells.