ABSTRACT
Industrial object manipulation is traditionally performed by conveyor systems and robotic armatures. Each of these technologies is traditionally controlled centrally via a CPU or control system. We have developed and demonstrated an object manipulation system capable of differentially sorting objects which uses a system of parallel distributed control. Each component in the system has its own control mechanism or sensor–microcontroller–actuator; importantly, the system is able to organize object movement by communicating with its neighbors to map its local environment and perform object sorting and manipulation tasks. The sensing and actuation system is inspired by cilia on Paramecia caudatum. Robotic armatures mimic the ciliary action and sensing elements on each cilium detect the type of object above them. We have demonstrated sorting objects based on color and rotation using edge detection; this proof-of-concept system is largely up-scalable and reprogrammable.
