Robots inspired by organic cells can coordinate their movements, transport objects and even respond to light

  • Scientists call them 'particle robots' but they share similarities with 'grey goo' 
  • This is an end-of-the-world scenario where robots consume Earth's biomass
  • They are able to coordinate movements, transport objects and respond to light 
  • Computer simulations showed that 100,000 of the machines could navigate around obstacles towards a light source

Scientists have succeeded in creating simple cell-like robots that join together in large groups, move in a coordinated fashion and transport objects.

The particle robots measure between 15.5 cm (6.1 inches) and 23.5 cm (9.2 inches) across.

They are able to coordinate their movements, transport objects and even respond to light.

Scientists call them 'particle robots' but even their creators admit they share similarities with the 'grey goo' that prompted a famous warning from the Prince of Wales.

Grey goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which self-replicating robots consume all biomass on Earth.

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Scientists have succeeded in creating simple cell-like robots that join together in large groups, move in a coordinated fashion and transport objects. The particle robots measure between 6.1 inches and 9.2 inches across

Scientists have succeeded in creating simple cell-like robots that join together in large groups, move in a coordinated fashion and transport objects. The particle robots measure between 6.1 inches and 9.2 inches across

Sixteen years ago Prince Charles said advances in microscopic-scale engineering could lead to bacteria-sized machines laying waste to the Earth.

His fears were taken seriously by the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering, which in 2003 launched an inquiry into the emerging science of nanotechnology.

Lord May, former Government chief scientist and then president of the Royal Society, insisted that the 'grey goo' nightmare was even less likely to come true than cloning dinosaurs 

Professor Hod Lipson, head of the creative machines laboratory at Columbia University, New York, said: 'You can think of our robot as the proverbial 'grey goo'.

'Our robot has no single point of failure and no centralised control. It's still fairly primitive, but we now know that this fundamental robot paradigm is actually possible.

'We think it may even explain how groups of cells can move together, even though individual cells cannot.'

The disc-shaped robots, loosely connected by magnets, can do nothing individually except expand and contract.

Without any external stimulus, they shuffle about randomly.

But when programmed to adjust their diameters in response to an environmental signal, they are collectively attracted to the signal's source.

In experiments, a cluster of two dozen robots was made to sense a light and move towards it.

Computer simulations showed that 100,000 of the machines could navigate around obstacles towards a light source, and even transport objects placed in their midst.

Scientists call them 'particle robots' but even their creators admit they share similarities with the 'grey goo' that prompted a famous warning from the Prince of Wales sixteen years ago. This image shows a number of the robots interlocking

Scientists call them 'particle robots' but even their creators admit they share similarities with the 'grey goo' that prompted a famous warning from the Prince of Wales sixteen years ago. This image shows a number of the robots interlocking

Prince Charles said advances in microscopic-scale engineering could lead to bacteria-sized machines laying waste to the Earth. The particle robot, which are not yet nano-scale, are able to coordinate their movements, transport objects and even respond to light

Prince Charles said advances in microscopic-scale engineering could lead to bacteria-sized machines laying waste to the Earth. The particle robot, which are not yet nano-scale, are able to coordinate their movements, transport objects and even respond to light

They were also resilient to individual failure. Even when a fifth of the particles were 'dead', the swarm achieved its goal.

The magnets led to co-ordinated movement as the particles pushed and pulled one another.

Particles closer to the light source experience a brighter light and begin their expansion-contraction cycle earlier.

Dr Shuguang Li, another member of the team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), explained: 'That movement creates a sort of wave throughout the cluster, from the ones closer to the light to the ones further away, and that wave makes the entire cluster move towards the light.'

The aim of the project was to mimic the way biological cells behaved, said the scientists.

Looking towards a nanotech future, Prof Lipson said: 'We think it will be possible one day to make these kinds of robots from millions of tiny particles, like microbeads, that respond to sound or light or chemical gradient.

'Such robots could be used to do things like clean up areas or explore unknown terrains/structures.'

The full findings were published in the journal Nature.

WILL ROBOTS ONE DAY GET AWAY WITH WAR CRIMES?

If a robot unlawfully kills someone in the heat of battle, who is liable for the death?

In a report by the Human Rights Watch in 2017, they highlighted the rather disturbing answer: no one.

The organisation says that something must be done about this lack of accountability - and it is calling for a ban on the development and use of 'killer robots'.

Called 'Mind the Gap: The Lack of Accountability for Killer Robots,' their report details the hurdles of allowing robots to kill without being controlled by humans.

'No accountability means no deterrence of future crimes, no retribution for victims, no social condemnation of the responsible party,' said Bonnie Docherty, senior Arms Division researcher at the HRW and the report's lead author. 

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