An illustration of how the collective, decentralized behavior of ants has inspired experiments with cooperative robots that can complete tasks without central control. Harvard researchers built a ...

Robots come in a vast array of shapes and sizes. By definition, they're machines that perform automatic tasks and can be operated by humans, but sometimes work autonomously—without human help.

Newly developed mathematical rules allow virtual swarms of tiny robots to build without blueprints. In computer simulations, the robots built honeycomb-like structures without ever following - or even ...

In crowded environments, more robots don’t always mean faster results—in fact, too many can bring everything to a standstill. Harvard researchers discovered a surprising fix: adding a bit of ...