Harvard and MIT Build A Robot That Can Build Itself [Watch Video]

Behold! A robot that is so autonomous it can make itself is now a reality, thanks to Harvard and MIT, The Harvard Gazette reports.

But what does that mean?

Check out their video here:

CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO...

Robert Wood, the Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard and member of the team that created the robot, said in an interview:

“Well, robots in general are complex mechanisms: They have articulation, some number of degrees of freedom, they must interact with the world. So we picked a robot not just because we work on robotics, but because they are traditionally difficult to make and control. In this case, it is just a four-legged robot whose body and mechanisms are assembled through this folding process.”

Well, that’s cool and all. But why is this important?

“Imagine a ream of dozens of robotic satellites sandwiched together so that they could be sent up to space and then assemble themselves remotely once they get there,” lead author Sam Felton, a doctoral student at the Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard told The Gazette. “They could take images, collect data, and more.”

When robots pass us in intellect, projected for later this century, they can create robots to do anything and humans will not be needed.

Can’t remember the book, but basically that’s the theme. The author was on C-SPAN this spring.

Very interesting. I wish them much success in their development of the project. I’m concerned that this device would be easily compromised via computerized hacking and the downloading of destructive or distorted data from a source wanting to sabotage our efforts. If this tool did not totally rely on earthbound sources for instruction and monitoring, in would be that much more reliable and less vulnerable to the previously mentioned hacking or sabotage. I was hoping the video would show the device in action, including self assembly, utility skill sets, and cessation of action. All in good time. It’s a worthy cause.

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