Configuration generation method and generation system of self-reconfigurable modular carrying unit

Abstract

The invention provides a configuration generation method and system for a self-reconfiguration modular carrying unit, and the method is used for enabling more than two self-reconfiguration modular carrying units to generate a modular carrying unit cluster. The method comprises the following steps: decoupling a configuration problem of the self-reconfigurable modular carrying unit into a formation configuration problem and an orientation configuration problem; solving a formation configuration problem to obtain an optimal formation configuration; solving an orientation configuration problem according to the optimal formation configuration to obtain an optimal orientation configuration; and obtaining the configuration of the self-reconfigurable modular carrying unit according to the optimal formation configuration and the optimal orientation configuration. According to the configuration generation method, the speed of finding the excellent configuration can be greatly increased; it can be ensured that the found excellent configuration can well surround the target object, and omni-directional movement is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of model building, and specifically relates to a configuration generation method and generation system of a self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the rapid development of science and technology, intelligent robots have been widely used in production, medical treatment, education, security and other fields. Among them, reconfigurable modular robots have become one of the research hotspots. Reconfigurable modular robots include multiple identical modules, each module has the same shape and size, and can be assembled autonomously according to needs to complete different tasks. However, the configuration design of reconfigurable modular robots still faces certain challenges.

[0003] The structural optimization problem of modular robot systems starts with modular manipulator systems. An enumeration algorithm is used to first find all non-isomorphic configurations and then select the optimal configuration. However, the computational efficiency of this algorithm is extremely low. Subsequent studies have expanded the scope of research to various modular robot systems and enhanced the computational efficiency. However, as the number of modules increases, the set of all possible robot configurations grows exponentially, so it becomes impractical to find the optimal configuration through exhaustive search. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to overcome the problems existing in the related art at least to a certain extent, the present application provides a configuration generation method and generation system of a self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit.

[0005] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, the present application provides a method for generating a configuration of a self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit, which is used to generate a modular carrier unit cluster from two or more self-reconfigurable modular carrier units, comprising the following steps:

[0006] The configuration problem of the self-reconfigurable modular transport unit is decoupled into the formation configuration problem and the orientation configuration problem.

[0007] Solve the formation configuration problem and obtain the optimal formation configuration;

[0008] Solve the orientation configuration problem according to the optimal formation configuration and obtain the optimal orientation configuration;

[0009] The configuration of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit is obtained according to the optimal formation configuration and the optimal orientation configuration.

[0010] In the configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit, the configuration matrix of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit is:

[0011]

[0012] Where R represents the radius of the wheel in the modular transport unit, θ i (i=1,…n) represents the orientation of the ith modular carrier unit, r i,x represents the relative position of each modular transport unit relative to the geometric center of the modular transport unit cluster configuration in the x direction, r i,y Represents the relative position of each modular transport unit in the y direction relative to the geometric center of the modular transport unit cluster configuration.

[0013] In the configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit, the process of solving the formation configuration problem is:

[0014] The assembly relationship matrix based on tree structure is used to describe the formation configuration of modular carrier units.

[0015] A position matrix is ​​used to describe the position relationship between the next modular carrier unit and the current modular carrier unit;

[0016] A rotation matrix is ​​used to describe the rotation relationship between the next modular carrier unit and the current modular carrier unit;

[0017] The geometric center position of the modular carrier unit and the assembly relationship matrix based on the tree structure are two different ways to describe the formation configuration of the modular carrier unit; among them, the assembly relationship matrix based on the tree structure is used to quickly generate different configurations, and the geometric center position of the modular carrier unit is used to calculate the configuration matrix. These two description methods are equivalent, and the specific transformation process is as follows:

[0018] The geometric center position of any modular carrier unit is set as the origin, and its rotation matrix is ​​set as the unit matrix. The geometric center positions of other modular carrier units are iteratively calculated according to the assembly relationship matrix, the position matrix and the rotation matrix; the geometric center position of each modular carrier unit is averaged to calculate the geometric center position of the entire modular carrier unit cluster; the geometric center of the entire modular carrier unit cluster is moved to the origin by subtracting the geometric center position of each modular carrier unit from the geometric center position of the entire modular carrier unit cluster, and the geometric center position of each modular carrier unit after the move is obtained;

[0019] With the purpose of surrounding the target object, the optimal formation configuration evaluation function is set and solved to minimize ICP error and mutual collision.

[0020] Furthermore, the tree-structured assembly relationship matrix A(S) is:

[0021]

[0022] In the formula, A(S) represents a square matrix with n rows and n columns. The element A in the square matrix A(S) is ij , (i=1,…n; j=1,…n) represents the connection surface information between the i-th modular carrier unit and the j-th modular carrier unit;

[0023] In the tree-structured assembly relationship matrix A(S), if A ij =A ji = 0, it means that the ith modular carrier unit is not connected to the jth modular carrier unit; if A ij ≠0, A ji ≠0 and mod(A ij +A ji ,2)=1,(i=j,i≤n,A ij ∈{1,2,…24},A ji ∈{1,2,…24}), then it represents the Ath of the i-th modular carrier unit ij The Ath surface of the jth modular carrier unit ji Surface connection;

[0024] The position matrix Step is:

[0025]

[0026] Where l represents the contour radius of the modular carrier unit; k=0, 1, 2, ... 23 represents the relative position of the next modular carrier unit in the x direction after it is connected to the k+1th surface of the current modular carrier unit. k=0, 1, 2, ... 23 represents the relative position of the next modular carrier unit in the y direction after it is connected to the k+1th surface of the current modular carrier unit;

[0027] The rotation matrix Rot is:

[0028]

[0029] Wherein, the rotation matrix Rot represents the rotation matrix between the coordinate systems of the two modular carrier units after the i-th face of one modular carrier unit is connected to the j-th face of another modular carrier unit. The element R in the rotation matrix Rot is j i It is a square array with two rows and two columns.

[0030] Furthermore, the process of iteratively calculating the geometric center positions of other modular carrier units according to the assembly relationship matrix, the position matrix and the rotation matrix is ​​as follows:

[0031] In the assembly relationship matrix A(S), the serial numbers of the modular carrier units with serial numbers q connected to the current modular carrier unit with serial numbers p are searched in sequence;

[0032] According to the center position r of the modular carrier unit p , Rotation Matrix Rot p , based on the information A of the connection surface between the two pq With A qp , as well as the position matrix Step and the rotation matrix Rot, the center position r of the connected modular carrier unit is calculated q and the rotation matrix Rot q :

[0033] r q =r p +Rot p ×Step(:,A pq );

[0034] Rot q =Rot(2p-1:2p,2q-1:2q)×Rot p ;

[0035] Take q as the next modular carrier unit and continue to calculate the positions of other modular carrier units;

[0036] Repeat the above steps until the positions of all modular carrier units are determined.

[0037] Furthermore, the geometric center position r′ of each modular carrier unit after the movement i for:

[0038] r′ i =r i -r o ;

[0039] Among them, r i represents the geometric center position of the modular carrier unit, r o Indicates the geometric center position of the entire modular carrier unit cluster.

[0040] Furthermore, the optimal formation configuration evaluation function is:

[0041]

[0042] In the formula, C icp represents the alignment error, C col represents the number of collisions;

[0043] The solution process of the optimal formation configuration evaluation function is:

[0044] Generate a set of modular carrier unit cluster configurations, each of which is arranged horizontally;

[0045] The fitness of the entire modular carrier unit cluster configuration set is evaluated by using the optimal formation configuration evaluation function; according to the value of the optimal formation configuration evaluation function, a preset modular carrier unit cluster configuration is selected from the entire modular carrier unit cluster configuration set; a crossover operation is performed using the selected modular carrier unit cluster configuration to obtain a new modular carrier unit cluster configuration; after a preset number of cycles, the optimal configuration is selected from the modular carrier unit cluster configuration set as the final optimal formation configuration.

[0046] Furthermore, the process of using the selected modular carrier unit cluster configuration to perform crossover operation to obtain a new modular carrier unit cluster configuration is:

[0047] A modular carrier unit p is randomly selected as a breakpoint, and the complete configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster is divided into two modular carrier unit cluster sub-configurations; all possible docking surfaces on the two modular carrier unit cluster sub-configurations are collected as a left docking surface group LF and a right docking surface group RF; an element L is randomly selected in the left docking surface group, and an element R is randomly selected in the right docking surface group, and the elements L and R are used as new docking surfaces, and the two modular carrier unit cluster sub-configurations are connected into a new modular robot cluster complete configuration; it is determined whether there is overlap in the new modular robot cluster complete configuration; if so, the new modular robot cluster complete configuration is discarded; otherwise, the new modular robot cluster complete configuration is retained.

[0048] Furthermore, the process of solving the orientation configuration problem according to the optimal formation configuration to obtain the optimal orientation configuration is:

[0049] The maximum singular value and condition number of the configuration matrix M of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit are used as the objective function to ensure the omnidirectional mobility and maximum controllability of the overall configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster.

[0050] Among them, the objective function is:

[0051]

[0052] Where α1 and α2 both represent weights. The weight α1 is related to the omnidirectional movement of the overall configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster, and the weight α2 is related to the maximum controllability of the overall configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster; σ max (M T M) represents the maximum singular value, cond(M T M) represents the condition number; T represents the matrix transpose,

[0053] According to the objective function, the orientation corresponding to the minimum objective function value is obtained, and this orientation is used as the optimal orientation configuration.

[0054] In the configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit, the modular carrier unit adopts a modular single-wheel robot, and the modular single-wheel robot includes a docking base, a steering mechanism, a traveling mechanism and a control mechanism;

[0055] The docking base is provided with a steering mechanism and a traveling mechanism;

[0056] The steering mechanism and the traveling mechanism are both connected to the control mechanism, and the control mechanism is used to drive the steering mechanism to drive the docking base to turn, and is also used to drive the traveling mechanism to drive the docking base to move in a desired direction;

[0057] The docking base is connected to the docking bases in other modular single-wheel robots by magnetic attraction, so that multiple modular single-wheel robots form a modular robot cluster.

[0058] According to the second aspect of an embodiment of the present application, the present application also provides a configuration generation system for a self-reconfigurable modular transport unit, which includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and running on the processor, and when the processor processes the computer program, it implements any of the above-mentioned methods for generating a configuration of a self-reconfigurable modular transport unit.

[0059] According to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods of the present application, it can be known that at least the following beneficial effects are achieved: the configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit provided by the present application decouples the configuration problem of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit into a formation configuration problem and an orientation configuration problem; with the purpose of encircling the target object, an optimal formation configuration evaluation function with the goal of minimizing ICP errors and mutual collisions is proposed, and based on the proposed assembly relationship matrix, an optimal formation configuration fast optimization solution algorithm is designed; with the maximum singular value and condition number of the velocity distribution matrix as the objective function, the omnidirectional movement and maximum controllability of the overall structure are ensured, and the optimal orientation configuration generation algorithm is designed in a nonlinear optimization manner; the configuration generation method of the present application can greatly speed up the speed of finding an excellent configuration; it can ensure that the excellent configuration found can better surround the target object and achieve omnidirectional movement.

[0060] It should be understood that the above general description and the following specific embodiments are only exemplary and illustrative and do not limit the scope of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] The attached drawings below are part of the specification of the present application, which illustrate embodiments of the present application. The attached drawings together with the description of the specification are used to explain the principles of the present application.

[0062] Figure 1 This is one of the structural schematic diagrams of a modular single-wheel robot in a configuration generation method of a self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0063] Figure 2 The second structural schematic diagram of a modular single-wheel robot in a configuration generation method of a self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0064] Figure 3 A partial structural schematic diagram of a modular single-wheel robot in a configuration generation method of a self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0065] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method for generating a configuration of a self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0066] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the application status of a modular carrier unit cluster generated by a configuration generation method of a self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0067] Description of reference numerals:

[0068] 1. Docking base; 11. Ring gear; 12. Base body; 13. Magnet array; 14. Spring plunger;

[0069] 2. Steering mechanism;

[0070] 3. Traveling mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more clearly understood, the spirit of the contents disclosed in the present application will be clearly explained with the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptions below. After understanding the embodiments of the contents of the present application, any technician in the relevant technical field can change and modify them according to the techniques taught by the contents of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the contents of the present application.

[0072] The exemplary embodiments and descriptions of the present application are used to explain the present application, but are not intended to limit the present application. In addition, elements / components with the same or similar reference numerals used in the drawings and embodiments are used to represent the same or similar parts.

[0073] The terms “first”, “second”, etc. used in this document do not particularly refer to an order or sequence, nor are they used to limit this application. They are only used to distinguish elements or operations described with the same technical terms.

[0074] The words “include,” “including,” “have,” “contain,” etc. used in this document are open-ended terms, meaning including but not limited to.

[0075] As used herein, "and / or" includes any or all combinations of the items described.

[0076] As used herein, “plurality” includes “two” and “more than two”; as used herein, “plurality groups” includes “two groups” and “more than two groups”.

[0077] Certain terms used to describe the present application are discussed below or elsewhere in this specification to provide additional guidance to those skilled in the art regarding the description of the present application.

[0078] In the configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit provided in the present application, the modular carrier unit may specifically adopt a modular single-wheel robot.

[0079] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the modular single-wheel robot includes a docking base 1, a steering mechanism 2, a traveling mechanism 3 and a control mechanism (not shown in the figure). The steering mechanism 2 and the traveling mechanism 3 are arranged in the docking base 1, and the control mechanism can be arranged at the top of the docking base 1.

[0080] The steering mechanism 2 and the traveling mechanism 3 are both connected to the control mechanism, and the control mechanism is used to drive the steering mechanism 2 to drive the docking base 1 to turn, and is also used to drive the traveling mechanism 3 to drive the docking base 1 to move in a desired direction.

[0081] The docking base 1 can be connected to the docking bases 1 in other modular single-wheeled robots by magnetic attraction, so that multiple modular single-wheeled robots form a modular robot cluster.

[0082] The modular transport unit provided in the embodiment of the present application becomes a two-degree-of-freedom transport unit by configuring a steering mechanism 2 and a traveling mechanism 3, so that the modular transport unit can flexibly self-organize, self-form and self-reconfigure.

[0083] The docking base 1 includes a ring gear 11 and a base body 12, wherein the ring gear 11 is arranged on the inner wall of the base body 12 along the circumference of the base body 12. A magnet array 13 is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the base body 12 along the circumference of the base body 12, so that the docking base 1 can be magnetically connected with other docking bases 1. A spring plunger 14 is arranged at the bottom of the base body 12, and the spring plunger 14 is used to suspend and support the base body 12. The steering mechanism 2 drives the docking base 1 to steer by meshing with the ring gear 11.

[0084] In a specific embodiment, the base body 12 can adopt a cylindrical structure, and the ring gear 11 is arranged on the inner wall of the cylindrical structure. Along the circumference of the cylindrical structure, 2m rectangular plates are arranged on the outer wall of the cylindrical structure, where m is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, so that the cross-section of the outer wall of the cylindrical structure constitutes a regular 2m-sided polygon. Along the circumference of the cylindrical structure, a magnet array 13 is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the cylindrical structure. Each magnet in the magnet array 13 is arranged at the connection between two adjacent rectangular plates, and the directions of adjacent magnets are opposite.

[0085] It is understandable that the base body 12 can also directly use 2m rectangular plates to enclose a cylinder with a cross section of a regular 2m polygon. Along the circumference of the cylinder, the ring gear 11 is arranged on the inner wall of the cylinder. The magnet array 13 is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the cylinder. Each magnet in the magnet array 13 is arranged at the connection between two adjacent rectangular plates, and the directions of adjacent magnets are opposite.

[0086] Under the same diameter and magnet arrangement, the fewer the number of rectangular plates, the greater the docking strength (specifically expressed as shear force) of the modular carrier unit, but the continuity of the docking position and the flexibility of the formation are worse. Therefore, the number of rectangular plates can be adjusted according to mission requirements.

[0087] In a specific embodiment, m is set to m=12, and the cross section of the outer contour of the base body 12 is a regular 24-gon. Based on the polygonal contour design of the base body 12, the modular carrier unit can be flexibly docked while increasing the shear strength; and the docking is done in the form of surface contact, and the docking is strong, so that the modular carrier unit cluster composed of the modular single-wheeled robot can surround a target object with a complex shape and firmly surround it.

[0088] like Figure 1 As shown, the configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit provided in the present application includes the following steps:

[0089] S1. Decouple the configuration problem of the self-reconfigurable modular transport unit into a formation configuration problem and an orientation configuration problem.

[0090] According to the kinematic equation of the modular carrier unit cluster composed of self-reconfigurable modular carrier units, the configuration matrix M of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit can be expressed as:

[0091]

[0092] In formula (1), R represents the radius of the wheel in the modular transport unit, θ i (i=1,…n) represents the orientation of the ith modular carrier unit, r i,xrepresents the relative position of each modular transport unit relative to the geometric center of the modular transport unit cluster configuration in the x direction, r i,y Represents the relative position of each modular transport unit in the y direction relative to the geometric center of the modular transport unit cluster configuration.

[0093] S2. Solve the formation configuration problem and obtain the optimal formation configuration. The specific process is as follows:

[0094] S21. Use the tree-structured assembly relationship matrix A(S) to describe the formation configuration of the modular transport unit.

[0095] Among them, the assembly relationship matrix A(S) based on the tree structure is:

[0096]

[0097] In formula (2), A(S) represents a square matrix with n rows and n columns. The element A in the square matrix A(S) is ij , (i=1,…n; j=1,…n) represents the connection surface information between the i-th modular carrier unit and the j-th modular carrier unit.

[0098] In the tree-structured assembly relationship matrix A(S), if A ij =A ji = 0, it means that the ith modular carrier unit is not connected to the jth modular carrier unit. ij ≠0, A ji ≠0 and mod(A ij +A ji ,2)=1,(i=j,i≤n,A ij ∈{1,2,…24},A ji ∈{1,2,…24}), then it represents the Ath of the i-th modular carrier unit ij The Ath surface of the jth modular carrier unit ji Face connection.

[0099] S22. Use a position matrix to describe the position relationship between the next modular carrier unit and the current modular carrier unit.

[0100] Among them, the position matrix Step is:

[0101]

[0102] In formula (3), l represents the contour radius of the modular carrier unit; k=0, 1, 2, ... 23 represents the relative position of the next modular carrier unit in the x direction after it is connected to the k+1th surface of the current modular carrier unit. k=0, 1, 2, ... 23 represents the relative position in the y direction of the next modular carrier unit after it is connected to the k+1th surface of the current modular carrier unit.

[0103] S23. Use a rotation matrix to describe the rotation relationship between the next modular carrier unit and the current modular carrier unit.

[0104] Among them, the rotation matrix Rot is:

[0105]

[0106] In formula (4), the rotation matrix Rot represents the rotation matrix between the coordinate systems of the two modular carrier units after the i-th face of one modular carrier unit is connected to the j-th face of another modular carrier unit. The elements in the rotation matrix Rot are It is a square array with two rows and two columns.

[0107] S24, geometric center position r of modular carrier unit i The tree-structured assembly relationship matrix A(S) is used to describe the formation configuration of the modular carrier unit in two different ways. In the subsequent optimization process, the tree-structured assembly relationship matrix A(S) is used to quickly generate different configurations, and the geometric center position r of the modular carrier unit is i Used to calculate the configuration matrix M in formula (1), these two description methods are equivalent, and the specific transformation process is:

[0108] S241, set the geometric center position of any modular carrier unit to the origin r1=[0;0], and set its rotation matrix to the unit matrix. Iterate and calculate the geometric center positions of other modular carrier units according to the assembly relationship matrix A(S), the position matrix Step and the rotation matrix Rot. The specific process is as follows:

[0109] In the assembly relationship matrix A(S), sequentially search for the serial numbers (assuming the serial number is q) of the modular carrier units connected to the current modular carrier unit (assuming the serial number is p);

[0110] According to the center position r of the modular carrier unit p , Rotation Matrix Rot p , based on the information A of the connection surface between the two pq With A qp , as well as the position matrix Step and the rotation matrix Rot, the center position r of the connected modular carrier unit is calculated q and the rotation matrix Rot q :

[0111] r q =r p +Rotp ×Step(:,A pq ) (5)

[0112] Rot q =Rot(2p-1:2p,2q-1:2q)×Rot p (6)

[0113] Take q as the next modular carrier unit and continue to calculate the positions of other modular carrier units.

[0114] Repeat the above three steps until the positions of all modular carrier units are determined.

[0115] S242, taking the average of the geometric center positions of each modular carrier unit, and calculating the geometric center position r of the entire modular carrier unit cluster o .

[0116] S243, by subtracting the geometric center position of each modular carrier unit from the geometric center position of the entire modular carrier unit cluster, the geometric center of the entire modular carrier unit cluster is moved to the origin, and the geometric center position r′ of each modular carrier unit after the move is obtained. i .

[0117] Among them, the geometric center position r′ of each modular carrier unit after movement i for:

[0118] r′ i =r i -r o (7)

[0119] In formula (7), the geometric center position r of the modular carrier unit is i Including r i,x and r i,y .

[0120] S25. For the purpose of surrounding the target object, an optimal formation configuration evaluation function is set and solved with the goal of minimizing ICP (Iterative Closest Point) error and mutual collision.

[0121] Among them, the optimal formation configuration evaluation function is:

[0122]

[0123] In formula (8), C icp represents the alignment error, C col Indicates the number of collisions.

[0124] The solution process of the optimal formation configuration evaluation function is:

[0125] First, a set of modular carrier unit cluster configurations is generated, each of which is arranged horizontally.

[0126] Next, perform the following operations on the entire configuration set:

[0127] S251. Use the optimal formation configuration evaluation function to evaluate the fitness of the entire modular carrier unit cluster configuration set, and the process is as follows:

[0128] Determine the location of each modular carrier unit.

[0129] Points are uniformly sampled on the target object contour and the modular carrier unit cluster configuration to obtain the target object contour point set So and the modular carrier unit cluster configuration contour point set Sr.

[0130] The ICP algorithm is used to align the sampling points in the target object contour point set So with the sampling points in the modular carrier unit cluster configuration contour point set Sr, and the aligned target object contour points Sout and alignment error C are obtained. icp .

[0131] According to the aligned target object contour point Sout and the position r of the modular carrier unit i Distance determines the number of potential collisions C col .

[0132] S252. Select a preset modular carrier unit cluster configuration from the entire modular carrier unit cluster configuration set according to the value of the optimal formation configuration evaluation function.

[0133] S253, using the selected modular carrier unit cluster configuration to perform a cross operation to obtain a new modular carrier unit cluster configuration, the specific process of which is as follows:

[0134] A modular carrier unit p is randomly selected as a breakpoint, and the complete configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster is divided into two modular carrier unit cluster sub-configurations; all possible docking surfaces on the two modular carrier unit cluster sub-configurations are collected as a left docking surface group LF and a right docking surface group RF; an element L is randomly selected in the left docking surface group, and an element R is randomly selected in the right docking surface group, and the elements L and R are used as new docking surfaces, and the two modular carrier unit cluster sub-configurations are connected into a new modular robot cluster complete configuration; it is determined whether there is overlap in the new modular robot cluster complete configuration; if so, the new modular robot cluster complete configuration is discarded; otherwise, the new modular robot cluster complete configuration is retained.

[0135] S254, evaluating the current modular carrier unit cluster configuration set and selecting a new modular carrier unit cluster configuration set, and determining whether the result of the optimal formation configuration converges.

[0136] Finally, after steps S251 to S254 are repeated for a preset number of times, the best configuration is selected from the modular carrier unit cluster configuration set as the final optimal formation configuration.

[0137] S3. Solve the orientation configuration problem according to the optimal formation configuration and obtain the optimal orientation configuration. The specific process is as follows:

[0138] The maximum singular value and condition number of the configuration matrix M of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit are taken as the objective function to ensure the omnidirectional mobility and maximized controllability of the overall configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster.

[0139] Among them, the objective function is:

[0140]

[0141] In formula (9), α1 and α2 both represent weights. The weight α1 is related to the omnidirectional movement of the overall configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster, and the weight α2 is related to the maximum controllability of the overall configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster; σ max (M T M) represents the maximum singular value, cond(M T M) represents the condition number. T represents the matrix transpose,

[0142] According to formula (9), the orientation corresponding to the minimum objective function value is obtained, and this orientation is taken as the optimal orientation configuration.

[0143] The optimal orientation configuration generation algorithm is designed in a nonlinear optimization way. An unreasonable orientation arrangement will cause the overall structure to lose the ability to move in all directions.

[0144] S4, such as Figure 4 As shown, the configuration of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit is obtained according to the optimal formation configuration and the optimal orientation configuration.

[0145] In an exemplary embodiment, based on the configuration generation method of a self-reconfigurable modular transport unit provided in an embodiment of the present application, an embodiment of the present application also provides a configuration generation system of a self-reconfigurable modular transport unit, which includes a memory and a processor coupled to the memory, and the processor is configured to execute the configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular transport unit in any embodiment of the present application based on instructions stored in the memory.

[0146] The memory may be a system memory or a fixed non-volatile storage medium, etc. The system memory may store an operating system, an application program, a boot loader, a database, and other programs, etc.

[0147] It should be noted that the configuration generation system of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit and the configuration generation method embodiment of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit provided in the above embodiment belong to the same concept, and the specific implementation process is detailed in the method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0148] In an exemplary embodiment, the present application also provides a computer storage medium, which is a computer-readable storage medium, for example, a memory including a computer program, and the above-mentioned computer program can be executed by a processor to complete the configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular transport unit in any embodiment of the present application.

[0149] The above-mentioned embodiments of the present application can be implemented in various hardware, software coding or a combination of the two. For example, the embodiments of the present application can also represent the program code for executing the above-mentioned method in a data signal processor. The present application can also relate to the various functions performed by a computer processor, a digital signal processor, a microprocessor or a field programmable gate array. The above-mentioned processor can be configured according to the present application to perform specific tasks, which are completed by executing machine-readable software code or firmware code that defines the specific method disclosed by the present application. The software code or firmware code development can represent different programming languages ​​and different formats or forms. Different target platform compiled software codes can also be represented. However, the different code styles, types and languages ​​of the software code for performing tasks according to the present application and other types of configuration codes do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application.

[0150] The above description is only an illustrative specific implementation manner of the present application. Without departing from the concept and principle of the present application, any equivalent changes and modifications made by any technician in the field should fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for generating a configuration of a self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit, characterized in that: The method is used to generate a modular carrier unit cluster from two or more self-reconfigurable modular carrier units, comprising the following steps: The configuration problem of the self-reconfigurable modular transport unit is decoupled into the formation configuration problem and the orientation configuration problem. Solve the formation configuration problem and obtain the optimal formation configuration; Solve the orientation configuration problem according to the optimal formation configuration and obtain the optimal orientation configuration; The configuration of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit is obtained according to the optimal formation configuration and the optimal orientation configuration.

2. The configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The configuration matrix of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit is: Where R represents the radius of the wheel in the modular transport unit, θ i (i=1,…n) represents the orientation of the ith modular carrier unit, r i,x represents the relative position of each modular transport unit relative to the geometric center of the modular transport unit cluster configuration in the x direction, r i,y Represents the relative position of each modular transport unit in the y direction relative to the geometric center of the modular transport unit cluster configuration.

3. The configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The process of solving the formation configuration problem is: The assembly relationship matrix based on tree structure is used to describe the formation configuration of modular carrier units. A position matrix is ​​used to describe the position relationship between the next modular carrier unit and the current modular carrier unit; A rotation matrix is ​​used to describe the rotation relationship between the next modular carrier unit and the current modular carrier unit; The geometric center position of the modular carrier unit and the assembly relationship matrix based on the tree structure are two different ways to describe the formation configuration of the modular carrier unit; among them, the assembly relationship matrix based on the tree structure is used to quickly generate different configurations, and the geometric center position of the modular carrier unit is used to calculate the configuration matrix. These two description methods are equivalent, and the specific transformation process is as follows: The geometric center position of any modular carrier unit is set as the origin, and its rotation matrix is ​​set as the unit matrix. The geometric center positions of other modular carrier units are iteratively calculated according to the assembly relationship matrix, the position matrix and the rotation matrix; the geometric center position of each modular carrier unit is averaged to calculate the geometric center position of the entire modular carrier unit cluster; the geometric center of the entire modular carrier unit cluster is moved to the origin by subtracting the geometric center position of each modular carrier unit from the geometric center position of the entire modular carrier unit cluster, and the geometric center position of each modular carrier unit after the move is obtained; With the purpose of surrounding the target object, the optimal formation configuration evaluation function is set and solved to minimize ICP error and mutual collision.

4. The configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit according to claim 3, characterized in that: The tree-structured assembly relationship matrix A(S) is: In the formula, A(S) represents a square matrix with n rows and n columns. The element A in the square matrix A(S) is ij , (i=1,…n; j=1,…n) represents the connection surface information between the i-th modular carrier unit and the j-th modular carrier unit; In the tree-structured assembly relationship matrix A(S), if A ij =A ji = 0, it means that the ith modular carrier unit is not connected to the jth modular carrier unit; if A ij ≠0, A ji ≠0 and mod(A ij +A ji ,2)=1,(i=j,i≤n,A ij ∈{1,2,…24},A ji ∈{1,2,…24}), then it represents the Ath of the i-th modular carrier unit ij The Ath surface of the jth modular carrier unit ji Surface connection; The position matrix Step is: Where l represents the contour radius of the modular carrier unit; represents the relative position of the next modular carrier unit in the x direction after it is connected to the k+1th surface of the current modular carrier unit, represents the relative position in the y direction of the next modular carrier unit after it is connected to the k+1th surface of the current modular carrier unit; The rotation matrix Rot is: Wherein, the rotation matrix Rot represents the rotation matrix between the coordinate systems of the two modular carrier units after the i-th face of one modular carrier unit is connected to the j-th face of another modular carrier unit. The elements in the rotation matrix Rot are It is a square array with two rows and two columns.

5. The configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit according to claim 4, characterized in that: The process of iteratively calculating the geometric center positions of other modular carrier units according to the assembly relationship matrix, the position matrix and the rotation matrix is ​​as follows: In the assembly relationship matrix A(S), the serial numbers of the modular carrier units with serial numbers q connected to the current modular carrier unit with serial numbers p are searched in sequence; According to the center position r of the modular carrier unit p , Rotation Matrix Rot p , based on the information A of the connection surface between the two pq With A qp , as well as the position matrix Step and the rotation matrix Rot, the center position r of the connected modular carrier unit is calculated q and the rotation matrix Rot q : r q =r p +Rot p ×Step(:,A pq ); Rot q =Rot(2p-1:2p,2q-1:2q)×Rot p ; Take q as the next modular carrier unit and continue to calculate the positions of other modular carrier units; Repeat the above steps until the positions of all modular carrier units are determined.

6. The configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit according to claim 4, characterized in that: The geometric center position r of each modular carrier unit after the movement i 'for: r i ′＝r i -r o ； Among them, r i represents the geometric center position of other modular carrier units, r o Indicates the geometric center position of the entire modular transport unit cluster.

7. The configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit according to claim 4, characterized in that: The optimal formation configuration evaluation function is: In the formula, C icp represents the alignment error, C col represents the number of collisions; The solution process of the optimal formation configuration evaluation function is: Generate a set of modular carrier unit cluster configurations, each of which is arranged horizontally; The fitness of the entire modular carrier unit cluster configuration set is evaluated by using the optimal formation configuration evaluation function; according to the value of the optimal formation configuration evaluation function, a preset modular carrier unit cluster configuration is selected from the entire modular carrier unit cluster configuration set; a crossover operation is performed using the selected modular carrier unit cluster configuration to obtain a new modular carrier unit cluster configuration; after a preset number of cycles, the optimal configuration is selected from the modular carrier unit cluster configuration set as the final optimal formation configuration.

8. The configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit according to claim 7, characterized in that: The process of using the selected modular carrier unit cluster configuration to perform crossover operation to obtain a new modular carrier unit cluster configuration is as follows: A modular carrier unit p is randomly selected as a breakpoint, and the complete configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster is divided into two modular carrier unit cluster sub-configurations; all possible docking surfaces on the two modular carrier unit cluster sub-configurations are collected as a left docking surface group LF and a right docking surface group RF; an element L is randomly selected in the left docking surface group, and an element R is randomly selected in the right docking surface group, and the elements L and R are used as new docking surfaces, and the two modular carrier unit cluster sub-configurations are connected into a new modular robot cluster complete configuration; it is determined whether there is overlap in the new modular robot cluster complete configuration; if so, the new modular robot cluster complete configuration is discarded; otherwise, the new modular robot cluster complete configuration is retained.

9. The configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit according to claim 7, characterized in that: The process of solving the orientation configuration problem according to the optimal formation configuration to obtain the optimal orientation configuration is: The maximum singular value and condition number of the configuration matrix M of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit are used as the objective function to ensure the omnidirectional mobility and maximum controllability of the overall configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster. Among them, the objective function is: Where α1 and α2 both represent weights. The weight α1 is related to the omnidirectional movement of the overall configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster, and the weight α2 is related to the maximum controllability of the overall configuration of the modular carrier unit cluster; σ max (M T M) represents the maximum singular value, cond(M T M) represents the condition number; T represents the matrix transpose, According to the objective function, the orientation corresponding to the minimum objective function value is obtained, and this orientation is used as the optimal orientation configuration.

10. The configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The modular carrier unit adopts a modular single-wheel robot, which includes a docking base, a steering mechanism, a traveling mechanism and a control mechanism; The docking base is provided with a steering mechanism and a traveling mechanism; The steering mechanism and the traveling mechanism are both connected to the control mechanism, and the control mechanism is used to drive the steering mechanism to drive the docking base to turn, and is also used to drive the traveling mechanism to drive the docking base to move in a desired direction; The docking base is connected to the docking bases in other modular single-wheel robots by magnetic attraction, so that multiple modular single-wheel robots form a modular robot cluster.

11. A configuration generation system for a self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit, characterized in that: It comprises a memory, a processor and a computer program stored in the memory and running on the processor, and when the processor processes the computer program, it implements the configuration generation method of the self-reconfigurable modular carrier unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 10.

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