114 Modularity has been a buzzword in the marketing of complex engineered products for decades, suggesting that the machine it is applied to can be customised to do almost anything, by plugging in the appropriate payloads and reconfigured by swapping out a module or two (writes Peter Donaldson). Realising its benefits though relies on standardised structural, electrical and computer hardware and software interfaces – andmodularity comes with inherent overheads of its own. At Framework Robotics for example, 3D-printed cubic frames are the basic structural modules of a family of underwater vehicles. Fundamentally, a modular system consists of independent and interchangeable components that can be easily assembled, disassembled and replaced without disrupting the rest of the system. Each module typically performs a specific function or set of functions, and interfaces with other modules in a standardised way. Framework Robotics’ cubes connect together at the corners to form a framework that can take a variety of shapes while providing a large internal volume and mounting hardware for subsystems and equipment. Any modular systemalso needs subsystems that come as close to the plug-and-play ideal as possible. More standardised interfaces are essential here, particularly electrical connectors that carry power and data, along with the comms protocols that enable them to talk to each other with aminimumof setting up. Not only does this allow a vehicle to be constructed, configured and reconfigured quickly, it also eases maintenance and repair by making those components that are more subject to wear and tear rapidly swappable in the field. Modularity can also enable new technology to be incorporated into modules, extending the useful life of a vehicle. Customisation is easier (in theory) as well, as mission-focused payloads can be integrated into a specially configured chassis more cheaply than building a vehicle dedicated to a single mission or a narrow set of them. The general downside of modularity is the overhead inherent in the need to design, develop and interface each component for interchangeability, networking and reconfigurability, which increases their complexity and up-front costs. Such overheads can also reduce efficiency in some tasks compared with dedicated single-purpose vehicles. Modular design principles might also be unfamiliar to engineers who trained in traditional system design, while validation can be challenging because the number of potential system configurations is exponentially greater than in a traditionally designed system. As always in engineering, however, there are sweet spots to be found, and Framework Robotics may have found one with the modular system it has used to create the Buddy ROV, the Companion towfish, the Scout AUV and the Tracker crawling vehicle. June/July 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology PS | Modular vehicles Now, here’s athing Framework Robotics has used its modular approach to build underwater vehicles such as this Scout AUV
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