Mob of 30 Robots Demonstrate Liquid-like Movement and Stiffen to Bear Human Weight

Mob of 30 Robots Demonstrate Liquid-like Movement and Stiffen to Bear Human Weight

In a breakthrough for robotics, scientists have developed a swarm of cylindrical robots that behave more like a material than individual units. These robots, primarily manufactured from polylactic acid and measuring 2.75 inches in diameter, are inspired by the cohesive and force-producing behaviors of embryonic tissue cells.

The robots are outfitted with magnets at their bases, which allow them to naturally stick together and remain cohesive. Each robot also features yellow gears made of polylactic acid and a center with a ring of gears, enabling them to perform structure-forming and healing while supporting up to 700 newtons, or 500 times the weight of a single robot.

By generating force patterns similar to those produced by embryonic cells, the gears in these robots enable them to push, pull, and move around each other with precision, even in narrow spaces. This allows the robots to self-organize into various complex shapes, such as hexagonal structures reminiscent of honeycombs.

Lead author Matthew Devlin, a Ph.D. candidate at UCSB, noted that the robots' ability to transition between a fluid-like state and a solid-like rigidity is particularly fascinating. By adjusting the forces generated by the gears, the robots can assume either a liquid-like or solid-like behavior. Demonstrating this feature, Devlin shared that researchers are able to stand on the robots.

The team's research was informed by Otger Campas, a former professor at UC Santa Barbara who previously studied the physical shaping of embryos. Campas's work at TU Dresden focused on the ability of embryonic cells to "sculpt themselves," transitioning between fluid and solid states—a phenomenon known as rigidity transitions in physics. According to Campas, this research served as a cornerstone for the development of the robotic swarm.

In an article featuring the research, titled "Material-like robotic collectives with spatiotemporal control of strength and shape," published in the journal Science, the team outlined their primary research goals: creating a material that possesses both rigidity when required and adaptability to assume a softer structure, as well as the ability to take a shape that it can maintain while also selectively changing its form into a new shape.

Future research aims to focus on enhancing the structural adaptability, robustness, and cooperative behaviors of these swarm robots, leading to practical applications in areas like construction, search and rescue, and adaptable robotics systems. The team also hopes to delve deeper into understanding the scalability and precise control of such systems to achieve intricate structural forms and functions, eventually leading toward real-world deployment.

The field of soft robotics, which involves flexible sensors and actuators, will also contribute to improving the swarm robots' flexibility and functionality. With these developments, the potential applications for robots that demonstrate behaviors like a material appear limitless.

The yellow gears on these robots enable them to perform not only structure-forming and healing but also data-and-cloud-computing, thanks to the integration of technology within their design. By adjusting the forces generated by the gears, these robots, known for their ability to transition between fluid-like and solid-like behavior, could potentially store, process, and transmit data efficiently, making them valuable assets in a broad range of industries.

Investigating the scalability and precise control of these material-like robotic swarms, as well as integrating advancements from soft robotics, could lead to groundbreaking discoveries in areas like data storage and transportation, further revolutionizing the field of data-and-cloud-computing.

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