Modular Self-Reconfiguring Robot MorphBot Completes NASA Ground Testing: Shape-Shifts From Snake to Wheeled in 60 Seconds

Modular Self-Reconfiguring Robot MorphBot Completes NASA Ground Testing: Shape-Shifts From Snake to Wheeled in 60 Seconds

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory released the latest test footage of its MorphBot modular self-reconfiguring robot on November 27. MorphBot consists of 12 identical cubic modules, each measuring 10 cm by 10 cm by 10 cm and weighing 1.2 kilograms, with an onboard processor, battery, motor, and electromagnetic connectors. Modules freely connect and disconnect via electromagnetic interfaces.

In testing, MorphBot demonstrated autonomous switching between four configurations: snake mode (for traversing narrow pipes), wheeled mode (for high-speed movement on flat terrain), legged mode (for climbing stairs and obstacles), and quadrotor mode (for short-distance flight across gaps). The morphing decisions are made autonomously by an AI control system based on terrain analysis, with the entire reconfiguration process taking no more than 60 seconds.

"MorphBot's target application is planetary surface exploration," said Aaron Parness, the JPL project lead. "On Mars, you don't know whether the terrain ahead is sand dunes, rocks, or canyons. A single-morphology robot can't handle all terrain. MorphBot can autonomously change shape based on the environment, like a Swiss Army knife." NASA plans to carry a MorphBot prototype for field testing on a 2033 Mars mission.