Newly created robot transforms itself to get various tasks done

Where robots are created to perform a specific task, researchers have created a new robot that can transform itself to accomplish several tasks.

Researchers from Cornell University have created a new type of robot that is actually many smaller robots stuck together to make a bigger one. Due to this, the robot, called SMORES-EP, can transform into various shapes that best suits the tasks at hand.

What’s more interesting about the robot is that it doesn’t require anyone to tell it when to change the shape. The robot determines that on its own with the help of a system of cameras, sensors and AI software integrated in it, reported Tech Crunch.

Video Courtesy: Tarik Tosun

The team demonstrated the robot’s capabilities in a video where it navigates in a makeshift office environment around few objects. The robot retrieve’s objects and places them in a specified drop-off zone.

For switching to the decided shape, the robot detaches various parts of it and reattaches them again to its main body. This feature allows it to navigate narrow spaces or even inchworm itself up a set of stairs, as per Futurism.

The research was published in the journal Science Robotics.