TECH – In a Columbia University lab, something unusual is unfolding: robots that behave more like living organisms than machines. Dubbed the Truss Link, these modular bots aren’t just mobile—they’re capable of repairing themselves and even growing stronger by absorbing parts from other robots nearby.
Cited from futurism.com, each robot seems simple: a rod with magnetized ends and a tiny actuator allowing it to contract or expand. But when these modules connect, they evolve into geometric structures triangles, stars, and eventually complex forms like tetrahedrons. And in a series of compelling experiments, these shapes didn’t stay fixed. They adapted in real time, borrowing components from others, building new limbs, and optimizing their bodies for specific tasks.
In one demonstration, a tetrahedron-shaped bot attached an extra rod to act as a walking stick. The result? A 50% boost in speed while climbing a slope. In another test, robots swapped out low-battery modules with fresh ones, mimicking biological repair systems—an act researchers refer to as “robot metabolism.”
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“Real autonomy isn’t just about thinking,” said lead researcher Philippe Martin Wyder, “it’s about the ability to physically maintain and improve your body.” His colleague, Hod Lipson, emphasized how this leap moves beyond AI brains to tackle the neglected challenge of AI bodies. “We’ve made smart minds. Now we need smart, adaptable bodies.”
This innovation could change everything—from space exploration to disaster recovery, where robots must survive and adapt in harsh, unreachable environments without human intervention. The Truss Link represents a robotic ecology, a system of machines that can assemble, evolve, and sustain each other.
Yet the concept raises tough ethical questions: If machines can feed on machines, what happens when they operate beyond control? The very idea of robotic cannibalism may sound dystopian, but for scientists at Columbia, it’s a bold step toward sustainable, self-reliant machines.
What was once the stuff of science fiction is quickly becoming a tangible blueprint for future infrastructure—living, evolving systems that think, move, and heal, one module at a time.
