Self-assembly of hierarchical modular structure systems

A new modular concept with many homogeneous modules including hierarchical modular structures is necessary for large and/or complicated space structure systems to obtain high adaptability. A self-assembly system is presented as automated assembly systems using homogeneous modules, in which robots for assembly and members of structures are combined. For the assembly of hierarchical modular structures, a self-assembly planning using concept of meta-modules and process through intermediate configurations is proposed. Through numerical simulations, effectiveness of the proposed planning is demonstrated in terms of the percentage of success in self-assembly.