A distributed self-assembly and self-repair method is proposed for a 3-D reconfigurable machine, composed of many identical mechanical units. The method aims to enable the machine to transform itself into desired structure from an arbitrary initial configuration. The proposed method is implemented in such a way that each unit has identical software, so that any unit can play any role in the system. The method consists of two parts, for small and large scale systems. The first part is featured by a stochastic relaxation process, which allows the system to converge to a given target structure by searching for a proper unit motion over many degrees of freedom. We have also developed another self-assembly and self-repair method dedicated to effective self-assembly and self-repair for large scale systems by using layered and recursive description of target shape. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through a series of computer simulations.
