There’s power in numbers. It’s a fact that’s true for humans and more so for other species that thrive when assembled in vast numbers like ants, birds and fish. Such swarms rely on the group’s collective intelligence to survive. It is a concept that has caught on in the world of robotics, where researchers are devising robotic swarms to operate effectively in places humans are reluctant to venture.

The field of robotics often conjures images of mechanical moving arms in manufacturing, food delivery bots or the much more advanced humanoid counterpart of robots that still primarily reside in the realm of science fiction. Yet, there’s also the need for a class of small, nimble and unassuming bots, which are effective at search-and-rescue operations in hazardous environments, extraterrestrial exploration, subterranean inspection and even agricultural tasks like planting and harvesting.

Yasemin Ozkan-Aydin leads a team of researchers at the University of Notre Dame that is working to overcome the limitations of ground-based robot swarms due to the particular challenges of terrestrial locomotion. A recent study demonstrated how robots that mimic multi-legged organisms—configured with directionally flexible legs and tails and linked together autonomously—can navigate variable terrain without complex control or sensing.

“Understanding the emergent capabilities in both living and artificial collectives remains a frontier challenge in science and robotics,” said Ozkan-Aydin. “While numerous swarm robots have been built that can move and perform tasks in water or air, there has been limited research into the use of robots to swarm in complex terrestrial environments. The state of the art has dealt mainly with wheeled robots in flat laboratory environments.”

This terrestrial clumsiness of robots may seem surprising since humans are adept at locomotion. However, considerable advancement has been made in the arena of aerial and aquatic swarm robots, as air and water are more homogenous environments. For example, a Harvard University research team recently unleashed a school of silicon robotic 3D-printed fish that can swim together in coordination and observe wildlife. Meanwhile, flying robots are already busy in the field equipped with heat sensors to detect wildfires.

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Swarms of Robots Swim and Soar but Often Stumble on Terra Firma