We explain the design and analysis of a novel voxel design with the goal of reducing assembly time and complexity of the robot-material system. Recent advances in robot-material systems, on the other hand, have focused on mechanical properties, design, and production methods. Making it possible to create cellular structures in harsh and remote environments. These systems, which are built up of voxels and small mobile robots that live on top of the structure and move the cellular structures, nevertheless lack a connecting mechanism that reduces total system complexity and assembly time to a level that is desirable to people.

The design of these voxels prioritizes ease of assembly through simple actuation and is investigated by proposing a method to connect voxels via an end effector without removing mechanical qualities while maintaining the system’s modularity principle. Modularity is a design idea that divides a structure into smaller sections called voxels that can be built and assembled separately to build the required structure. Simultaneously, the end effector’s design aims to connect a voxel with the fewest degrees of freedom possible, while also holding a voxel throughout transit and placing the voxel in the desired spot.

A new connection mechanism for cuboctahedral cellular structures was devised, which would enable the building of required large-scale structures faster and easier. Several prototypes and experiments were used in the design of this connection mechanism. The final prototype was built by fused deposition modeling and demonstrated by attaching the end effector to a Universal Robot 5 (UR5) and completing a series of movements to simulate the autonomous assembly of a bridge. The concept evaluation resulted in an end effector that can connect all sides of the voxel with only two movements, without requiring the robot to go around the voxel. This idea lays the groundwork for enhancing the way robots form cellular structures and creating a mechanism to make them more appealing to humans when exploring remote settings. The study finishes with future research opportunities and prospective applications of such a connection mechanism in robot-material systems.