Methods and apparatus for autonomous 3D self-assembly, spatial docking and reconfiguration

A tile, comprising:

• a shell having a first geometrical shape;
• an arrangement of first magnets coupled to the shell;
• a light emitter coupled to the shell;
• and
• a controller configured to control operation of the arrangement of first magnets to couple the shell with a shell of at least one other tile in a microgravity environment, wherein the arrangement of first magnets is controlled to mate with a complementary arrangement of second magnets on the shell of the at least one other tile when the complementary arrangement of second magnets is within a range of a magnetic attractive force of the arrangement of first magnets and wherein the controller is coupled to the light emitter and further configured to control the light emitter to transmit a modulated optical signal having a code to indicate a location of the tile and/or communicate any other data to the at least one other tile.

In a zero gravity (0 G) environment, a system for identifying and aligning tiles with different geometrical configurations to form a predetermined configuration of tiles, the system comprising:

• (a) a magnetic field sensor configured to sense a magnetic field on a tile and to provide a tile identification signal in response thereto;
• (b) means, coupled to the magnetic field sensor, for identifying the tile based upon a tile identification signal sense;
• and
• (c) means for aligning a tile within a predefined pattern of tiles to form a predetermined configuration of tiles in a 0 g environment.