Current Topics in Classic Self-reconfigurable Robot Research

As opposed to common claims, selfreconfigurable robots have not yet been realized. Self-reconfigurable robots are supposed to be selfreconfigurable, physical, distributed and autonomous. Self-reconfigurable in the sense that they can change their own shape by rearranging constituent modules. Physical in the sense that they function in the real world. Distributed in the sense that control is distributed across the modules of the robot to ensure robust, fast, and parallel responses to changes in the environment. Autonomous in the sense of being able to adapt to changes in the environment. In this paper we try to identify classic research areas that are relevant for actually realizing selfconfigurable robots.