Modular Robots Navigate Damage, Reconfigure for Outdoor Survival
- tech360.tv
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Engineers at Northwestern University have developed a new class of modular robots, termed "legged metamachines," capable of exceptional agility and resilience. These robots can flip, jump, and continue moving even after being severed into multiple pieces.
The machines possess built-in athletic intelligence, adapting their movements on the go. They are composed of autonomous, Lego-like modules, each containing its own circuit board, battery, and motor.
While a single module can roll and jump independently, their true power emerges when they connect. The core components are half-meter-long modular limbs, featuring a central sphere that connects two elongated, stick-like segments.
Sam Kriegman, the lead author, explained the sphere contains the robot’s essential functions: a "nervous system," "metabolism," and "muscle." These correspond to a circuit board, a battery, and a motor.
Kriegman added that the modules are mechanically simple, able to rotate around a single axis, yet are surprisingly athletic and smart. The designs for optimal movement were generated using an evolutionary algorithm.
This AI-driven process simulated a Darwinian system of mutation and selection, evolving high-performing body types. The resulting machines feature modular parts assuming specialised roles, leading to "bizarre, alien-looking" designs.
These new robots mimic movements found in nature, shifting from the rhythmic undulations of a seal to the rapid bounding of a lizard or the powerful, coiled springs of a kangaroo. They perform complex acrobatics and survive extreme damage that would be fatal to standard designs.
Rather than failing when broken, these robots simply reconfigure. Severed parts remain autonomous, continuing to move until they can rejoin the collective.
Kriegman stated these are the first robots to venture outdoors after evolving within a computer. They are rapidly assembled, immediately move freely, and easily recover from major injuries that would be fatal to every other wild robot.
He noted that if flipped upside down, they instinctively right themselves and continue their journey. They can survive being chopped in half or cut into many pieces, with every module becoming an individual agent when separated.
To validate the AI's designs, Kriegman’s team built physical three-, four-, and five-legged prototypes. These were tested across various outdoor terrains, including shifting sand and tangled tree roots.
The metamachines demonstrated autonomy, performing flips and jumps without manual recalibration. Their most striking feature is their functional immortality, as each metamachine is essentially a "robot made of other robots."
Catastrophic damage is not fatal. If a leg is severed, the main body instantly recalibrates its gait. The severed limb does not become dead weight; it remains an autonomous agent, rolling and crawling across the terrain until it can rejoin its team.
Kriegman explained a module can sense its surroundings, move, compute, and learn. He added that metamachines can be rapidly assembled, repaired, redesigned, and recombined, moving themselves across a wide array of unstructured environments immediately after assembly.
This research holds potential for future robots capable of self-repair and rapid reconfiguration, suitable for extreme settings. The study was published in the journal *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*.
New "legged metamachines" developed by Northwestern University engineers can flip, jump, and continue moving after being cut.
These robots are composed of autonomous modules, each containing its own power and control systems.
AI-generated designs led to resilient body types that mimic natural movements and can reconfigure after damage.
Source: INTERESTING ENGINEERING
