Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Northwestern University engineers have developed the first modular robots with athletic intelligence. They can be combined and recombined in the wild, recover from injury and keep moving no matter what’s thrown at them.
Called “legged metamachines,” the creations are made from autonomous, Lego-like modules that snap together into an endless number of configurations. Each module by itself is a complete robot with its own motor, battery and computer. Alone, a module can roll, turn and jump. But the real agility and indestructibility emerges when the modules combine.
To design the most effective combinations, the engineers used artificial intelligence (AI) to evolve novel body configurations. Instead of sticking with standard dog- or human-like designs, the AI churned out strange new “species” of machines that no human engineer would have conceived. When connected to other modules, the metamachines undulate like seals, bound like lizards or spring like kangaroos.
Learn more: pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2519129123
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Northwestern University engineers have developed the first modular robots with athletic intelligence. They can be combined and recombined in the wild, recover from injury and keep moving no matter what’s thrown at them.
Called “legged metamachines,” the creations are made from autonomous, Lego-like modules that snap together into an endless number of configurations. Each module by itself is a complete robot with its own motor, battery and computer. Alone, a module can roll, turn and jump. But the real agility and indestructibility emerges when the modules combine.
To design the most effective combinations, the engineers used artificial intelligence (AI) to evolve novel body configurations. Instead of sticking with standard dog- or human-like designs, the AI churned out strange new “species” of machines that no human engineer would have conceived. When connected to other modules, the metamachines undulate like seals, bound like lizards or spring like kangaroos.
Learn more: pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2519129123
____
▶️ Subscribe: bit.ly/NorthwesternUYTSubscribe
Follow Northwestern on social media:
-Instagram: instagram.com/northwesternu
-TikTok: tiktok.com/@northwestern.u
-Twitter/X: twitter.com/northwesternu
-LinkedIn: linkedin.com/school/northwestern-university
-Facebook: facebook.com/northwesternu
Northwestern on the Web:
-Northwestern Homepage: https://northwestern.edu
-Northwestern Now News: https://news.northwestern.edu
-Northwestern Magazine: https://magazine.northwestern.edu
