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NEW SEARCH ROBOT

DEVELOPED AT TECHNICAL

UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH

FIRST MODULAR ROBOTS

Scientists at the Technical University of Munich there. The robot then searches the probable locations
Learning Systems and Robotics Laboratory have almost 30 per cent more efficiently than if it searched WITH ATHLETIC INTELLIGENCE
developed a robot that can locate lost items on randomly throughout the room.
command by combining knowledge from the
Artificial intelligence is deployed for image
internet with a spatial map of its surroundings.
recognition and through use of a language model.
It is one of the first robots to integrate image
The robot remembers previous images which it
understanding with application to a clearly defined
can compare with new images of its surroundings
task.
such that if a new object suddenly appears it can
The camera initially provides two-dimensional recognise the change with a 95 per cent degree of
images with pixels that also contain in-depth certainty and mark it as a highly probable search
information to create a spatial map that can be location. Engineers at Northwestern University, Illinois, have
constantly updated. A laptop is used to provide the developed the first ever modular robots with athletic
Professor Angela Schoellig, Head of the Robotics
robot with information about which objects are visible intelligence.
Lab at the Technical University of Munich’s Chair
in the image. The objective is to develop robots that
of Safety, Performance and Reliability for Learning They can be combined and recombined in
can navigate any environment independently.
Systems, says: wild settings and recover from injury. They are
Humanoid robots working in factories need this constructed from autonomous, Lego-like modules
“ The language model captures the relationships
newly-developed basic understanding. Two-digit that snap together into an endless number of
between the objects and we convert this
numbers appear on the three-dimensional map configurations, each module being a complete robot
information into the robot’s language”.
of the environment, constantly recalculating the consisting of half-metre-long modular legs joined by
likelihood that the object being sought is located Reference: ‘Search Robot “thinks” for itself’, Controls, Drives and a central sphere comprising a circuit board, battery
Automation, May 2026, p.38
and motor.
Each module is able to turn, roll and jump, with
a greater agility and robustness being achieved
when the modules combine. In order to design the
Visit our website! most effective combinations, the engineers used
AI to evolve novel body configurations that were
effectively new ‘species’ of machine, as opposed to
standard dog or human-like designs.
Why not head down to our website and When connected to other modules, these
read more news in our blog section? ‘metamachines’ assume the capability to undulate
like seals, bound like lizards and spring like
kangaroos, and because each metamachine is
Updated daily with hand-picked articles essentially a robot composed of other robots it also
from around the web... has the ability to resist serious damage.
Reference: ‘AI-designed Modular Robots can self-repair’, Engineering
Designer, April-June 2026, p.9
institutionofelectronics.ac.uk

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