Robotic tiles autonomously Lego-snap into floating smart structures
Robotic tiles autonomously Lego-snap into floating smart structures
Researchers at MIT have developed FloatForm, a system of robotic tiles that can autonomously assemble into floating structures. Inspired by ant colony behavior, the system uses magnetic latches, sensors, and thrusters to reconfigure dynamically, addressing challenges like hydrodynamics and slipstreams. Potential applications include emergency response, public space, and infrastructure on water.
The paper presents FloatForm, a self-propelled, mostly-autonomous fleet of robotic tiles that can assemble into floating structures. The system uses magnetic latches, sensors, and thrusters to reconfigure dynamically, inspired by ant colony behavior. It addresses challenges like hydrodynamics and slipstreams, and explores applications in emergency response, public space, and infrastructure onwater
Source: New Atlas — Robotics · Read original article ↗
Loading article text…
What the source reports
Publisher-reported claims, with original evidence. These results have not been independently verified by RoboSignal.
Reported numbers
robotic tiles
64 robots
View original evidence
blocker. Without effective scaling, similar robots might assemble in a set order resulting in lengthy waiting of mostly inactive units. But FloatForm’s approach uses minimal central planning that gives each machine a final position in a larger assembly and delegating navigation, object-avoidance, and other adaptation to each robot responding to its neighbors so that, in current simulations, a fleet of 64 robots can
Open source S13distance
≤15
View original evidence
move simultaneously. “Every robot becomes an actuator,” says Gonzalez-Garcia. As Hagemann explains, FloatForm units “become more stable by joining together, like the ant raft, if you have waves or currents.” Furthermore, while the robots are too small to hold large batteries, they use minimal power for thrust, and employ magnets to grasp nearby units up to 15 cm (5.9 in) away. “If they use less energy on latching,” s
Open source S14distance
5.9
View original evidence
move simultaneously. “Every robot becomes an actuator,” says Gonzalez-Garcia. As Hagemann explains, FloatForm units “become more stable by joining together, like the ant raft, if you have waves or currents.” Furthermore, while the robots are too small to hold large batteries, they use minimal power for thrust, and employ magnets to grasp nearby units up to 15 cm (5.9 in) away. “If they use less energy on latching,” s
Open source S14
- paper: not_reported
- code: not_reported
- weights: not_reported
- dataset: not_reported
Source excerpts and review record
Automatically extracted; no manual editorial approval recorded.
blocker. Without effective scaling, similar robots might assemble in a set order resulting in lengthy waiting of mostly inactive units. But FloatForm’s approach uses minimal central planning that gives each machine a final position in a larger assembly and delegating navigation, object-avoidance, and other adaptation to each robot responding to its neighbors so that, in current simulations, a fleet of 64 robots can
Open source S13
ssentially turning static water surfaces into dynamic, programmable spaces,” says Wei, formerly of MIT and now head of the Marine Robotics Lab at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He describes future cities in which “public space isn’t fixed, but can autonomously expand, contract, or reconfigure on demand.” Currently, FloatForm is too small for that. Each robotic tile is about the surface area of a standard pie
Open source S6
move simultaneously. “Every robot becomes an actuator,” says Gonzalez-Garcia. As Hagemann explains, FloatForm units “become more stable by joining together, like the ant raft, if you have waves or currents.” Furthermore, while the robots are too small to hold large batteries, they use minimal power for thrust, and employ magnets to grasp nearby units up to 15 cm (5.9 in) away. “If they use less energy on latching,” s
Open source S14
Source：New Atlas — Robotics · newatlas.com