Claims
- 1. A robotic module for a toy construction system comprising:
a housing; an actuator connected to a pivot mechanism to supply operational power for rotation; at least one connection plate for forming a connection between at least two of the modules; a gear mechanism; a control unit connected to said actuator to control rotation of the module; an energy storage device; and at least one position sensor for sensing module arrangement.
- 2. The robotic module according to claim 1, wherein said actuator comprises a servo motor.
- 3. The robotic module according to claim 1, wherein said control unit comprises a central processing unit.
- 4. The robotic module according to claim 3, wherein said central processing unit is pre-programmed.
- 5. The robotic module according to claim 3, wherein said central processing unit is programmed externally.
- 6. The robotic module according to claim 1, wherein said energy storage device comprises at least one battery.
- 7. The robotic module according to claim 1, wherein at least one said connection plate forms a mechanical and electrical connection between two robotic modules.
- 8. The robotic module according to claim 1, wherein at least one said connection plate forms a mechanical connection between two robotic modules.
- 9. The robotic module according to claim 1, wherein said connection plate comprises:
a connection plate center; and a plurality of connector teeth having a profile suitable for locking an attaching robotic module into position.
- 10. The robotic module according to claim 9, wherein said connection plate center contains an opening for permitting the exchange of signals among connected robotic modules.
- 11. The robotic module according to claim 9, further comprising electrical contacts for providing electrical connections between connected modules.
- 12. The robotic module according to claim 11, wherein said electrical contacts comprise concentric ring electrical contacts.
- 13. The robotic module according to claim 11, wherein said electrical contacts comprise pins.
- 14. The robotic module according to claim 11, wherein said electrical contacts comprise mating electrical contacts.
- 15. The robotic module according to claim 9, wherein said plurality of connector teeth comprises eight teeth.
- 16. The robotic module according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sensing devices.
- 17. An assemblage of robotic modules for a toy construction system, the assemblage comprising a plurality of robotic modules connected together, each robotic module having a housing, an actuator connected to a pivot mechanism, at least one connection plate forming a connection between at least two of the robotic modules, a gear mechanism, a control unit, an energy storage device, and position sensors.
- 18. The assemblage of robotic modules according to claim 17, wherein a connector arm connects to the connection plates of at least two said robotic modules, for connecting the modules together.
- 19. The assemblage of robotic modules according to claim 17, further comprising passive components attached to said robotic modules.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The following copending applications, Attorney Docket Number D/A1523, U.S. application Ser. No. XXXXX, filed Aug. 24, 2001, titled “Robotic Toy with Posable Joints”, and Attorney Docket Number D/A1524, U.S. application Ser. No. XXXX, filed Aug. 24, 2001, titled “Robotic Toy Modular System with Distributed Program”, are assigned to the same assignee of the present application. The entire disclosures of these copending applications are totally incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Government Interests
[0002] 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.