Material-Like Robotic Collectives with Spatiotemporal Control of Strength and Shape
Author(s)
Hawkes, Elliott W.
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Abstract
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.
In this talk, I will describe how 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. I will show examples of structure-forming and healing and how the collective can support 700 newtons (500 times the weight of a robot) before “melting” under its own weight.
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Date
2026-02-25
Extent
59:17 minutes
Resource Type
Moving Image
Resource Subtype
Lecture
Rights Statement
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