Robohub.org
 

Structures assembled from small interlocking composite components | MIT News Office


by
19 August 2013



share this:

“MIT researchers have developed a lightweight structure whose tiny blocks can be snapped together much like the bricks of a child’s construction toy. The new material, the researchers say, could revolutionize the assembly of airplanes, spacecraft, and even larger structures, such as dikes and levees.”

John Payne‘s insight:

Because using this system to fabricate real-world structures only becomes practical when you have robots to do the assembly, I would term it a trasformational application of robotics, which is to say designing and making use of robots to enable a better approach.

See on web.mit.edu




John Payne

            AUAI is supported by:



Subscribe to Robohub newsletter on substack



Related posts :

Robot Talk Episode 166 – Evolving robot bodies and brains, with Rika Antonova

  16 Oct 2026
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Rika Antonova from the University of Cambridge about using artificial intelligence to develop complimentary robot hardware and algorithms.

Humanoid robots can sprint and box – but the real test is doing the laundry

  12 Oct 2026
No robot system can yet reliably handle the whole laundry process. Even folding remains a challenge.

Robot Talk Episode 165 – Robots behind the research, with Kushant Patel

  09 Oct 2026
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Kushant Patel from Brookhaven National Laboratory about robots that work in scientific facilities, such as particle accelerators.

What three days building a robot taught me

and   07 Oct 2026
The brief sounded simple: build a small autonomous robot, then make it survive increasingly difficult mazes. Simple... right? Until you actually have to build one.

Research could guide the future design of social robots

  05 Oct 2026
Giving robot companions animal-like or anime-style faces and voices could maximise their emotional appeal to users, according to new research which could help guide the growing field of social robotics.

Robot Talk Episode 164 – Accelerating robot learning, with Michelle Lu

  02 Oct 2026
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Michelle Lu from Vsim Technology about using simulation and artificial intelligence to teach robots new skills.

Robotics and automation? Informal reflections on familiar terms

IEEE experts reflect on what is meant by the term "robotics and automation".


↑


AUAI is supported by:







Subscribe to Robohub newsletter on substack




 















©2026.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence