Search by a Metamorphic Robotic System in a Finite 3D Cubic Grid
This solves a theoretical robotics problem for modular systems in 3D environments, building incrementally on prior 2D results.
The paper tackles the problem of search by a metamorphic robotic system in a finite 3D cubic grid, showing that three modules are necessary and sufficient with a common compass, four with agreement on the vertical axis, and five without a common compass.
We consider search in a finite 3D cubic grid by a metamorphic robotic system (MRS), that consists of anonymous modules. A module can perform a sliding and rotation while the whole modules keep connectivity. As the number of modules increases, the variety of actions that the MRS can perform increases. The search problem requires the MRS to find a target in a given finite field. Doi et al. (SSS 2018) demonstrate a necessary and sufficient number of modules for search in a finite 2D square grid. We consider search in a finite 3D cubic grid and investigate the effect of common knowledge. We consider three different settings. First, we show that three modules are necessary and sufficient when all modules are equipped with a common compass, i.e., they agree on the direction and orientation of the $x$, $y$, and $z$ axes. Second, we show that four modules are necessary and sufficient when all modules agree on the direction and orientation of the vertical axis. Finally, we show that five modules are necessary and sufficient when all modules are not equipped with a common compass. Our results show that the shapes of the MRS in the 3D cubic grid have richer structure than those in the 2D square grid.