MIT's reconfigurable robot can transform to become almost anything

MIT’s reconfigurable robot can transform to become almost anything

resembling a caterpillar-sized assembly of metal rings and strips, the robot doesn’t look like much. however, the technology involved in the ‘milli-motein’ is influenced by proteins, which naturally fold themselves into incredibly complex forms. it’s seen as a potential application for future devices that can fold themselves up into almost any shape imaginable. conceived by head of MIT’s center for bits and atoms, neil gershenfeld, ara knaian and kenneth cheung, the one-dimensional robot can essentially be made in a continuous strip, without conventionally moving parts, and then folded into arbitrary shapes. in order to achieve this, the team had to invent an entirely new kind of motor: not only small and strong, but also able to hold its position firmly even with power switched off. the researchers met these needs with a new system called anelectropermanent motor, dubbed as the world’s smallest chain robot.

‘the motor is similar in principle to the giant electromagnets used in scrapyards to lift cars, in which a powerful permanent magnet (one that, like an ordinary bar magnet, requires no power) is paired with a weaker magnet (one whose magnetic field direction can be flipped by an electric current in a coil). The two magnets are designed so that their fields either add or cancel, depending on which way the switchable field points. thus, the force of the powerful magnet can be turned off at will — such as to release a suspended car — without having to power an enormous electromagnet the whole time. in this new miniature version, a series of permanent magnets paired with electromagnets are arranged in a circle; they drive a steel ring that’s situated around them.’ knaian explains, the key innovation is that “they do not take power in either the on or the off state, but only use power in the changing state, using minimal energy overall.’

(tiny) reconfigurable robots at MIT video courtesy of MIT news office