A modular mobile robotic system for cooperative payload manipulation

A novel modular ground robotic system is proposed for the purpose of cooperative manipulation and transportation of rigid payloads in two dimensions. The proposed design consists of a set of identical holonomic robots equipped with a lifting mechanism that can be rigidly attached to a desired payload. Once attached, the robot-payload system becomes holonomic and the payload can be transported by the robots along an arbitrary desired trajectory. The proposed system has unique advantages in terms of scalability, holonomic dynamics, and simplicity. Experimental results using a set of prototype robots and an example payload demonstrate feasibility of the proposed system, and trajectory tracking accuracy is quantified using multiple robot configurations. Overall, the proposed modular manipulation system is shown to be a promising technology that is scalable and deployable in a wide range of applications.