MIT researchers are developing a ``self-replicating robot'' that assembles parts to create the same robot as itself
A research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is developing a `` self-replicating robot that can assemble parts and build the same robot as yourself ''. It is hoped that in the future it will help build bigger things such as houses and aircraft.
Self-replicating hierarchical modular robotic swarms | Communications Engineering
Flocks of assembler robots show potential for making larger structures | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
https://news.mit.edu/2022/assembler-robots-structures-voxels-1122
MIT Engineers Design Self-Building Robots That Can Grow Into Bigger Machines
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/mit-engineers-design-self-building-robots-that-can-grow-into-bigger-machines-3557709
Researchers are building robots that can build themselves | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/22/researchers-are-building-robots-that-can-build-themselves/
A research team at the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA) is working on an ambitious project to develop a ``autonomously self-replicating robot'', and in November 2022, it will be possible to realize a self-replicating robot. We published a paper about a new approach that is approaching. You can see how the research team is working on the development of self-replicating robots by watching the following video.
Assembler robots could eventually build almost anything - YouTube
The self-replicating robot being developed by the research team is composed of a combination of small three-dimensional parts called 'voxels'.
Originally, voxels were simple mechanical structural parts, magnetically attached to each other voxels connected by wires to power and control systems.
However, the research team decided to use more complex voxels with structures that transmit power and data to the individual voxels themselves.
``What's emerging is the idea of structural electronics, called voxels, that transmit power and data, not just forces. There are no wires, just structures,'' said CBA professor Neil Gershenfeld. I'm here.
A self-replicating robot in which multiple voxels are connected by magnets can use the attachment at the end to grab a voxel that will be a part of a new robot and place the voxel at the desired position.
By using highly functional voxels, the research team claims that the robot can arrange parts and replicate robots similar to itself.
In building self-replicating robots, the challenge is to develop decision-making algorithms such as ``where to arrange the parts and when to start building a new robot,'' and the research team is working on the development of such algorithms. That's what I'm talking about.
Also, at the time of writing the article, there is still a hardware problem that the connectors between voxels are not strong enough to withstand the required load.
Although the development of fully self-replicating robots is expected to be years away, eventually such robots could be used to build very large structures, such as airplanes, houses, and protective barriers that protect coastlines from rising sea levels. It is expected to make things easier to build.
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