The European R&D-Project MORPH: Marine robotic systems of self-organizing, logically linked physical nodes

The MORPH project (FP 7, 2012-2016) advances the novel concept of an underwater robotic system composed of a number of spatially separated mobile robot-modules, carrying complementary resources. Instead of being physically coupled, the modules are connected via communication links that rely on the flow of information among them, i. e. inter-module interactions are enabled by underwater communication networks at distant and close ranges and supported by visual perception at very close range. Without rigid links, the MSV can reconfigure itself and adapt in response to the shape of the terrain, including walls with negative slope.