Robotics: Science and Systems XVII
Falling Into Place: Drop Assembly of Interlocking Puzzles
Amy Sniffen, Zezhou Sun, Samuel E Lensgraf, Emily Whiting, Alberto Quattrini Li, Devin BalkcomAbstract:
This paper explores a system for assembling structures by dropping block components into place. During and after assembly; the blocks are held together by geometric interlock; so that fasteners or mortar are only needed to bind the final block to one of its neighbors. Drop assembly is a promising strategy for assembly by swimming or flying robots; as it may allow structures to be built without requiring close contact with the existing structure. The current paper explores a mathematical model of interlock; and presents a particular block design that allows interlock to be achieved using only gravity. Proof-of-concept demonstrations of the system are presented using a low-cost and relatively low-precision robot arm. The paper finally analyzes some of the potential limitations of the approach; particularly including flexing of the structure due to manufacturing tolerance limitations.
Bibtex:
@INPROCEEDINGS{Sniffen-RSS-21, AUTHOR = {Amy Sniffen AND Zezhou Sun AND Samuel E Lensgraf AND Emily Whiting AND Alberto Quattrini Li AND Devin Balkcom}, TITLE = {{Falling Into Place: Drop Assembly of Interlocking Puzzles}}, BOOKTITLE = {Proceedings of Robotics: Science and Systems}, YEAR = {2021}, ADDRESS = {Virtual}, MONTH = {July}, DOI = {10.15607/RSS.2021.XVII.055} }