Hi everyone,
I’m Nischay Sai, an engineering student. I’ve been developing a modular shape-changing robot made up of small independent robotic units.

Each unit acts as both the body and actuator, using miniature motors to enable multi-directional rotation and self-reconfiguration. The goal is to allow these modules to connect and rearrange into different geometric structures or motion patterns.

⚙ Technical Overview:

Actuators: Micro servo motors (used as both body and joint)

Control System: ESP32 microcontroller with I²C expanders

Power: 5V DC via shared bus

Communication: Serial & Web-based interface for control

Software: Python + web dashboard (for direction and motor mapping)

Design: Each module can rotate 360°, allowing structural flexibility

💡 Inspiration:

Inspired by adaptive, modular robotics research and self-reconfigurable systems in robotics.
The focus is on creating low-cost micro-scale shape-changing robotics that can adapt form factors dynamically.

🎯 Future Work:

Adding magnet-based docking between modules

Improving motion synchronization

Implementing distributed control logic

Full working video :

Looking for:
Feedback on the modular design approach or ideas for better control synchronization between multiple units.