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Documents authored by Cheung, Kenneth C.

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2024.34
Reconfiguration Algorithms for Cubic Modular Robots with Realistic Movement Constraints

Authors: MIT-NASA Space Robots Team, Josh Brunner, Kenneth C. Cheung, Erik D. Demaine, Jenny Diomidova, Christine Gregg, Della H. Hendrickson, and Irina Kostitsyna

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 294, 19th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2024)

Abstract
We introduce and analyze a model for self-reconfigurable robots made up of unit-cube modules. Compared to past models, our model aims to newly capture two important practical aspects of real-world robots. First, modules often do not occupy an exact unit cube, but rather have features like bumps extending outside the allotted space so that modules can interlock. Thus, for example, our model forbids modules from squeezing in between two other modules that are one unit distance apart. Second, our model captures the practical scenario of many passive modules assembled by a single robot, instead of requiring all modules to be able to move on their own. We prove two universality results. First, with a supply of auxiliary modules, we show that any connected polycube structure can be constructed by a carefully aligned plane sweep. Second, without additional modules, we show how to construct any structure for which a natural notion of external feature size is at least a constant; this property largely consolidates forbidden-pattern properties used in previous works on reconfigurable modular robots.
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MIT-NASA Space Robots Team, Josh Brunner, Kenneth C. Cheung, Erik D. Demaine, Jenny Diomidova, Christine Gregg, Della H. Hendrickson, and Irina Kostitsyna. Reconfiguration Algorithms for Cubic Modular Robots with Realistic Movement Constraints. In 19th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 294, pp. 34:1-34:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{mitnasaspacerobotsteam_et_al:LIPIcs.SWAT.2024.34,
  author =	{MIT-NASA Space Robots Team and Brunner, Josh and Cheung, Kenneth C. and Demaine, Erik D. and Diomidova, Jenny and Gregg, Christine and Hendrickson, Della H. and Kostitsyna, Irina},
  title =	{{Reconfiguration Algorithms for Cubic Modular Robots with Realistic Movement Constraints}},
  booktitle =	{19th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2024)},
  pages =	{34:1--34:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-318-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{294},
  editor =	{Bodlaender, Hans L.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2024.34},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-200742},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2024.34},
  annote =	{Keywords: Modular robotics, programmable matter, digital materials, motion planning}
}
Document
Media Exposition
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2020.73
Space Ants: Constructing and Reconfiguring Large-Scale Structures with Finite Automata (Media Exposition)

Authors: Amira Abdel-Rahman, Aaron T. Becker, Daniel E. Biediger, Kenneth C. Cheung, Sándor P. Fekete, Neil A. Gershenfeld, Sabrina Hugo, Benjamin Jenett, Phillip Keldenich, Eike Niehs, Christian Rieck, Arne Schmidt, Christian Scheffer, and Michael Yannuzzi

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 164, 36th International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2020)

Abstract
In this video, we consider recognition and reconfiguration of lattice-based cellular structures by very simple robots with only basic functionality. The underlying motivation is the construction and modification of space facilities of enormous dimensions, where the combination of new materials with extremely simple robots promises structures of previously unthinkable size and flexibility. We present algorithmic methods that are able to detect and reconfigure arbitrary polyominoes, based on finite-state robots, while also preserving connectivity of a structure during reconfiguration. Specific results include methods for determining a bounding box, scaling a given arrangement, and adapting more general algorithms for transforming polyominoes.
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Amira Abdel-Rahman, Aaron T. Becker, Daniel E. Biediger, Kenneth C. Cheung, Sándor P. Fekete, Neil A. Gershenfeld, Sabrina Hugo, Benjamin Jenett, Phillip Keldenich, Eike Niehs, Christian Rieck, Arne Schmidt, Christian Scheffer, and Michael Yannuzzi. Space Ants: Constructing and Reconfiguring Large-Scale Structures with Finite Automata (Media Exposition). In 36th International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2020). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 164, pp. 73:1-73:6, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2020)

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@InProceedings{abdelrahman_et_al:LIPIcs.SoCG.2020.73,
  author =	{Abdel-Rahman, Amira and Becker, Aaron T. and Biediger, Daniel E. and Cheung, Kenneth C. and Fekete, S\'{a}ndor P. and Gershenfeld, Neil A. and Hugo, Sabrina and Jenett, Benjamin and Keldenich, Phillip and Niehs, Eike and Rieck, Christian and Schmidt, Arne and Scheffer, Christian and Yannuzzi, Michael},
  title =	{{Space Ants: Constructing and Reconfiguring Large-Scale Structures with Finite Automata}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2020)},
  pages =	{73:1--73:6},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-143-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2020},
  volume =	{164},
  editor =	{Cabello, Sergio and Chen, Danny Z.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2020.73},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-122310},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2020.73},
  annote =	{Keywords: Finite automata, reconfiguration, construction, scaling}
}
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