Material-like robotic collectives with spatiotemporal control of strength and shape

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Devlin, Matthew R.; Kim, Sangwoo; Campas, Otger; Hawkes, Elliot W.
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Santa Barbara; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne; Technische Universitat Dresden; Max Planck Society
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-10723
• DOI: 10.1126/science.ads7942
• 发表日期: 2025-02-21
• 页码: 880-885
• 关键词: convergent extension; cell; morphogenesis; mechanics

摘要

The vision of robotic materials-cohesive collectives of robotic units that can arrange into virtually any form with any physical properties-has long intrigued both science and fiction. Yet, this vision requires a fundamental physical challenge to be overcome: The collective must be strong, to support loads, yet flow, to take new forms. We achieve this in a material-like robotic collective by modulating the interunit tangential forces to control topological rearrangements of units within a tightly packed structure. This allows local control of rigidity transitions between solid and fluid-like states in the collective and enables spatiotemporal control of shape and strength. We demonstrate structure-forming and healing and show the collective supporting 700 newtons (500 times the weight of a robot) before melting under its own weight.