A team of Columbia University scientists has developed a type of robot capable of “growing” and improving by integrating materials and parts of other robots from the surrounding environment. This new process, detailed in a study published on Science Advancesit was baptized “robot metabolism” (robotic metabolism) and represents an important step forward towards the self -sufficiency of the machines: “To achieve true autonomy, robots must not only be able to think independently, but also of physically self -sustaining”, explains Philippe Martin Wyder, coordinator of the research.
Inspired by the Geomags. The new capacity has been demonstrated by testing the Truss Links, robotic magnetic sticks inspired by the Geomag toy: these are bars equipped with free -shaped magnetic connectors, which can expand, contract and connect to other modules by creating increasingly complex structures.
After joining two -dimensional shapes (such as a triangle), the Truss Links incorporate other sticks and form three -dimensional shapes (such as a tetrahedron). The new integrated parts do not only make them larger, but also more skilled: a robotrahedron, for example, has incorporated another bar to be used as a “walking stick” to increase its movement speed downhill by over 66.5%.
Not just brain. “The robotic minds have made giant steps in the last ten years thanks to machine learning, but the bodies of the robots are still monolithic, not adaptable and not recyclable,” underlines Hod Lipson, one of the authors. We must ensure that robotic bodies become as biological – adaptable, able to heal, grow and reuse modules of other life forms.
A look at the future. Wyder clearly explains how the future of these self -sufficient machines imagines: initially systems capable of supporting robotic metabolism will be used in specific fields such as space exploration, and only a world in which artificial intelligence can be able to build robots with the same simplicity with which she writes or reviews an email can exist.
According to Lipson, despite the idea of a world populated by robots capable of reproducing the most dark science fiction scenarios, we must look in reality and be practical: in the future where robots will guide our cars and produce what we buy, it is unthinkable to imagine that humans take care of the machines: “The robots must, ultimately, learn to take care of themselves”, concludes.