Watch a swarm of 1000 mini-robots assemble into shapes - tech - 14 August 2014 - New Scientist

Watch a swarm of 1000 mini-robots assemble into shapes - tech - 14 August 2014 - New Scientist: To do the assembling, the desired end shape is first transmitted to all the robots and then four stationary robots are positioned by hand to mark the shape's starting point. Next, some of the robots start to shuffle until they reach a place-holding robot and then fan out from that point to stop in the right place. Each robot can only communicate with the others nearby. Successive robots build up the shape by stopping near the robots already in place. It can take about 12 hours for 1000 robots to fill in a pattern.

Make Your Own World With Programmable Matter - IEEE Spectrum

Make Your Own World With Programmable Matter - IEEE Spectrum: Goldstein and his colleagues think that an efficient way to produce shape changes might be to fill the initial blob of catoms with lots of little voids and then shift them around to achieve the right contours. Small local movements of adjacent catoms would be sufficient to shift the cavities, and if they are allowed to bubble to the surface, the overall volume would shrink. Conversely, the material could expand by opening up pockets at the surface and engulfing them.

The Swiss Army Knife Robot | MIT Technology Review

The Swiss Army Knife Robot | MIT Technology Review: The device is called a milli-motein—a reference to its millimeter-sized components and a motorized design inspired by proteins, which naturally fold themselves into incredibly complex shapes. "It’s effectively a one-dimensional robot that can be made in a continuous strip, without conventionally moving parts, and then folded into arbitrary shapes," says Neil Gershenfeld...

To build it, the research team had to invent an entirely new kind of motor: one that is not only small and strong but also able to hold its position firmly even with the power switched off. (When an ordinary electric motor is switched off, its shaft can rotate freely.) The researchers met these needs with a new system called an electropermanent motor.

‘Smart sand’ can self-assemble to duplicate parts or create new tools

‘Smart sand’ can self-assemble to duplicate parts or create new tools: Unlike many other approaches to reconfigurable robots, smart sand uses a subtractive method, akin to stone carving, rather than an additive method, akin to snapping LEGO blocks together. A heap of smart sand would be analogous to the rough block of stone that a sculptor begins with. The individual grains would pass messages back and forth and selectively attach to each other to form a three-dimensional object; the grains not necessary to build that object would simply fall away...

Algorithmically, the main challenge in developing smart sand is that the individual grains would have very few computational resources.

Tiny Kilobots to go on sale

Tiny Kilobots to go on sale: Along with its lithium-ion battery and rigid legs, each Kilobot incorporates an LED bulb, two motors (which vibrate the legs), a wide-angle infrared transceiver, and a microcontroller. An unlimited number of the little guys can be programmed via a computer-linked overhead infrared controller in under 40 seconds, and each have the ability to act autonomously, based on the parameters of that programming.

iMobot modular robot technology licensed

iMobot modular robot technology licensed: Similar to Lego, iMobot is designed as a building block. However, unlike Lego, a single iMobot module is a fully functional robot with four controllable degrees of freedom. iMobot can roll, crawl, and creep.

Kilobots bring us one step closer to a robot swarm

Kilobots bring us one step closer to a robot swarm: These small and simple robots are about the size of a US quarter that moves around on a set of vibrating legs. These small robots are able to communicate with each other by blinking lights mounted on their cases. While each individual unit may not seem that advanced or impressive the real impact is what happens when the robots work as a system.

Video: New Modular Robot Fits Together to Form Larger Modular Robots | Popular Science

Video: New Modular Robot Fits Together to Form Larger Modular Robots | Popular Science: Its two modules have two joints at the center, which can rotate 180 degrees, and two rotating faceplates at each end, as the researchers explain. The faceplates turn continuously, allowing the robot to roll along as though it were driving. Future research will explore clusters of iMobots working together in even larger modular platforms.

Robot snake 'Uncle Sam' now climbs trees (w/ Video)

Robot snake 'Uncle Sam' now climbs trees (w/ Video): "Uncle Sam is built using modular segments containing actuators and sensors, and the head segment is fitted with a camera. Being modular allows the snake robot the potential to be self-assembled in the field, and also simplifies repair of the robot if sections are damaged. The modular nature also means the robot’s length can be adjusted easily as needed."

Shape-shifting robot compensates for damaged limb - tech - 01 September 2010 - New Scientist

Shape-shifting robot compensates for damaged limb: "In the simulation, each Roombot alters its pattern of movement randomly every few seconds and assesses how those changes affect the quadruped's overall velocity. After being given 10 minutes to find its feet, the quadruped had increased its speed from 5 centimetres per second to 31 cm/s.

When one Roombot was then made to malfunction – instantly slashing the walking speed to 15 cm/s – the quadruped learned to adapt its gait. After a further 20 minutes the hobbled robot had increased its walking speed to 21 cm/s."