Modular self-reconfiguring robotic systems or self-reconfigurable modular robots are autonomous kinematic machines with variable . Beyond conventional actuation, sensing and control typically found in , self-reconfiguring robots are also able to deliberately change their own shape by rearranging the connectivity of their parts, in order to adapt to new circumstances, perform new tasks, or recover from damage. There are two basic methods of segment articulation that self-reconfigurable mechanisms can utilize to reshape their structures: and .