Neighbor Detection and Crosstalk Elimination in Self-Reconfigurable Robots

This paper addresses two issues concerning communication between neighbor modules in self-reconfigurable robots. The first issue is automatic neighbor detection that is due to modules self-reconfiguring, whereby the local communication network topology dynamically changes. The second issue is crosstalk between non-neighbor modules, where data packages send through an infrared communication channel are received by a non-neighbor module because of reflections. In this paper, we proposed algorithmic solutions to automatic neighbor detection and crosstalk elimination. The algorithms are simple, distributed, self-organizing and robust. For validation, they are implemented and evaluated on the physical ATRON system. In conclusion, the algorithms are efficient and effective and we argue that these algorithmic contributions may be applicable on other systems as well.