Claims
- 1. An assemblage of robotic modules for a toy construction system, the assemblage comprising:
a plurality of robotic modules, each robotic module having memory capability, an actuator, communication means, and a central processing unit; and a distributed control unit defined at least in part by a plurality of individual central processing units wherein each one of said robotic modules includes at least one said central processing unit.
- 2. The assemblage of robotic modules according to claim 1, wherein said robotic modules further comprise an audio/visual display.
- 3. The assemblage of robotic modules according to claim 1, wherein said robotic modules further comprise at least one sensing device.
- 4. A method for controlling an assemblage of robotic modules for a toy construction system, each one of said robotic modules including memory capability, an actuator, communication means, and a central processing unit, the method comprising:
distributing a sequence of behaviors for the assemblage of robotic modules among the robotic modules; and storing said sequence of behaviors within the individual central processing units of each of the robotic modules.
- 5. The method for controlling an assemblage of robotic modules according to claim 4, wherein each one of the robotic modules stores only the sequence of behaviors to be executed by that one robotic module.
- 6. The method for controlling an assemblage of robotic modules according to claim 4, wherein said sequence of behaviors comprises:
providing an initialization signal to each of said robotic modules in the assemblage of robotic modules; initiating a first behavior for each of the robotic modules; discontinuing a first behavior when a first trigger is received for each module; and initiating and discontinuing behavior steps upon receipt of a trigger until all behavior steps have been executed.
- 7. The method for controlling an assemblage of robotic modules according to claim 6, wherein said trigger comprises an internal state change.
- 8. The method for controlling an assemblage of robotic modules according to claim 6, wherein said trigger comprises an external state change.
- 9. A method for downloading a control program to an assemblage of robotic modules for a toy construction system, each one of said robotic modules including memory capability, an actuator, communication means, and a central processing unit, the method comprising:
communicating the control program to all robotic modules simultaneously; and requiring each of the robotic module to determine which elements of the control program are relevant for its individual control.
- 10. The method for downloading a control program to an assemblage of robotic modules according to claim 9, wherein requiring each said robotic module to determine which elements of the control program are relevant for its individual control comprises checking for identification labels included within the control program.
- 11. The method for downloading a control program to an assemblage of robotic modules according to claim 9, wherein requiring each said robotic module to determine which elements of the control program are relevant for its individual control comprises identifying the position of said robotic module.
- 12. The method for downloading a control program to an assemblage of robotic modules according to claim 9, wherein requiring each said robotic module to determine which elements of the control program are relevant for its individual control comprises identifying the position of at least one other robotic module within the assemblage of robotic modules.
Government Interests
[0001] This work was funded in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contract #MDA972-98-C-0009. The U.S. Government may have certain rights in this invention.