A new modular robot from Cornell University can autonomously change shape based on its surroundings and the task at hand. Modular robots are made of several interchangeable parts that can be rearranged for a new task or replaced completely if they break. The new robot can work out how to reconfigure itself based on its surroundings and tasks.

The new robot can autonomously adjust itself to move in a new environment (Source: Cornell University)

"This is the first time modular robots have been demonstrated with autonomous reconfiguration and behavior that is perception-driven," said Hadas Kress-Gazit, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell and principal investigator on the project.

The new robot is made of wheeled, cube-shaped modules. The modules can detach and reattach to form new shapes that enable it to perform new tasks. The modules are magnetic which allows them to reattach to each other. The robot uses Wi-Fi to communicate with a centralized system.

This is the first modular robot system that has fully autonomous behavior. It is also the first robot that can reconfigure itself based on the tasks it is facing and what its environment looks like.

"I want to tell the robot what it should be doing, what its goals are, but not how it should be doing it," Kress-Gazit said. "I don't actually prescribe, 'Move to the left, change your shape.' All these decisions are made autonomously by the robot."

The paper on the new autonomous modular robot was published in Science Robotics.