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BriefROBOTICS

Self-Assembling Robot Swarm AutoMorph Demonstrated at MIT: 100 Modules Autonomously Assemble into Any Specified Shape

MIT's Distributed Robotics Lab AutoMorph system achieves autonomous assembly of 100 cubic modules, each capable of independent movement, communication, and locking, assembling into user-specified 3D shapes through distributed algorithms.

MIT's Distributed Robotics Laboratory published a paper on September 4 detailing the AutoMorph self-assembling robot swarm system. The system comprises 100 five-centimeter cubic robot modules, each containing micro motors, wireless communication chips, magnetic locking mechanisms, and batteries. Through distributed algorithms, these modules autonomously move to designated positions and lock together to form any 3D shape designed by users in software.

AutoMorph's control algorithm relies on no central controller. Each module communicates only with adjacent modules, using a "message passing" algorithm to determine its target position and movement path. When a user inputs a target shape in software, the system automatically calculates each module's target position, and the modules autonomously execute movement and assembly.

In demonstrations, AutoMorph successfully assembled shapes including chairs, bridges, stairs, and simple robotic arms, with assembly times ranging from 3 to 15 minutes. The team lead said: "AutoMorph's vision is making physical assembly as simple as building with blocks—except these blocks walk to their positions by themselves."