Robotic cubes shapeshift in outer space

If faced with the choice of sending a swarm of full-sized, distinct robots to space, or a large crew of smaller robotic modules, you might want to enlist the latter. Modular robots, like those depicted in films such as "Big Hero 6," hold a special type of promise for their self-assembling and reconfiguring abilities. But for all of the ambitious desire for fast, reliable deployment in domains extending to space exploration, search and rescue, and shape-shifting, modular robots built to date are still a little clunky. They're typically built from a menagerie of large, expensive motors to facilitate movement, calling for a much-needed focus on more scalable architectures -- both up in quantity and down in size. Scientists from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) called on electromagnetism -- electromagnetic fields generated by the movement of electric current -- to avoid the usual stuffing of bulky and expensive actuators into individual blocks.