Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and TU Dresden have developed a new type of “material-like” robot collective that can change shape and form in response to internal signals. The robots, shaped like small hockey pucks, can assemble themselves into different forms with varying properties, such as being both stiff and strong, or soft and flowable. The research was inspired by the way embryonic tissues can change shape and heal themselves. The robots can shift between fluid and solid states, similar to rigidity transitions in physics, allowing them to adapt to new forms. The lead author, Matthew Devlin, says the goal is to create robots that can behave like a material, rather than being controlled by external forces. The implications of this technology could be significant, enabling the creation of smart materials that can adapt to different situations, such as in medical devices or construction.
Design an autonomous swarm intelligence network where individual robots can adapt and respond to their environment like a sentient material that can adjust its properties to optimize performance in real-time.
