Recently, braiding has attracted a great deal of attention as a configuration for reinforcing fiber-reinforced composites. However, limitations on the availability of appropriate braiding machinery make it difficult to manufacture the wide variety of braids required for various applications. In this report, a novel braiding system is proposed as a flexible method of textile production. Line-tracing robots with microcomputer boards and wireless communication modules are employed as yarn carriers. In the system proposed here there is no central unit that surveys, monitors, or controls the robots; each robot makes its decisions individually on the basis of the information obtained by communication. Nevertheless, the robot program is simple, and the robots are able to perform both cord and flat braiding without the need to change the program.
