MIT Roboats Gain Ability to Shapeshift Into New Structures
MIT's autonomous robot boats develop a new algorithm that allows them to disconnect, navigate safely, and reassemble into various on-demand shapes.
MIT's autonomous robot boats, known as roboats, gain a new ability to dynamically change their configurations. Unlike previous versions that only connect into basic assemblies, these updated robots now disconnect and reassemble into completely new structures entirely on their own.
A new algorithm manages this complex planning process by guiding groups of aquatic robots to unlatch, navigate around each other without colliding, and reconnect in different arrangements. In tests, the rectangular robots successfully form straight lines, squares, and L-shapes in both simulations and real-world pool environments.
This shapeshifting capability relies on a two-tier system of coordinator and worker units that communicate to determine their current layout and execute orders to reach a target shape. Researchers plan to scale this algorithm up to full-sized roboats that are four times larger, with the ultimate goal of creating on-demand bridges and floating platforms for urban waterways like the canals of Amsterdam.