Researchers advance efforts to create groups of robots that could construct almost anything.
When it comes to the manufacturing of commercial aircraft, different parts are manufactured at various locations.
Before finally bringing them all together in a central plant and putting the finished aeroplane together, the tail components, the fuselage, and the wings are made at different plants. Many other large structures, besides aircraft, are also built in sections. But what if instead of sections, the entire assembly could take place in one go using a team of small robots?A doctorate student, Amira Abdel-Rahman, and Neil Gershenfeld, professor and director of MIT Center of Bits and Atoms , are envisioning precisely this in theirThe new research provides a step forward towards building robots that can basically make anything.
The MIT team have successfully produced prototype robots capable of assembling small structures which connect to build whole vehicles and buildings- and even bigger robots.Like earlier experiments, the team's approach uses voxels , which are a collection of tiny identical subunits that create big, useable structures.
However, in this case, the voxels employed are more complex than earlier ones in that each of them can transport data and power from one unit to another. Previously, voxels were only mechanical structural components.Additionally, older versions involved bots that were connected through wire bundles and control systems. The new system is more efficient as voxels ensure there is a single structure — no bundles of wires or power sources.
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