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Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
Today's robots are picking up a skill possessed by yesterday's fictional robots - the ability to repair themselves, even adding to themselves by scavenging materials from their environment.
"True autonomy means robots must not only think for themselves but also physically sustain themselves," explains Philippe Martin Wyder, lead author and researcher at Columbia Engineering and the University of Washington. "Just as biological life absorbs and integrates resources, these robots grow, adapt, and repair using materials from their environment or from other robots."
(Via TechExplore.)
In the 1939 story Rust, old robots attempt to keep each other going by salvaging old parts:
Also, in The Velvet Glove (1956) by Harry Harrison, blue collar robots repair themselves:
Described in a new study published in Science Advances, this process, called "Robot Metabolism," enables machines to absorb and reuse parts from other robots or their surroundings.
“See,” squeaked old G-3a, as he pointed to a metal skeleton upon the floor. “I have remade a robot from parts that I took from the scrap heap. It is perfect, all but the brain. Still, I believe this will work.”
The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it, plenty of time to skim through the newspaper. With the chronic worry of the unemployed, he snapped it open to the want ads and ran his eye down the Help Wanted - Robot column...
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/29/2025)
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