  This article takes a step to provide humanoid robots with adaptive morphology
abilities. We present a systematic approach for enabling robotic covers to
morph their shape, with an overall size fitting the anthropometric dimensions
of a humanoid robot. More precisely, we present a cover concept consisting of
two main components: a skeleton, which is a repetition of a basic element
called node, and a soft membrane, which encloses the cover and deforms with its
motion. This article focuses on the cover skeleton and addresses the
challenging problems of node design, system modeling, motor positioning, and
control design of the morphing system. The cover modeling focuses on
kinematics, and a systematic approach for defining the system kinematic
constraints is presented. Then, we apply genetic algorithms to find the motor
locations so that the morphing cover is fully actuated. Finally, we present
control algorithms that allow the cover to morph into a time-varying shape. The
entire approach is validated by performing kinematic simulations with four
different covers of square dimensions and having 3x3, 4x8, 8x8, and 20x20
nodes, respectively. For each cover, we apply the genetic algorithms to choose
the motor locations and perform simulations for tracking a desired shape. The
simulation results show that the presented approach ensures the covers to track
a desired shape with good tracking performances.
