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Science & Medicine

Like termites, robots build without a central plan

These are the specially designed robots that build without a plan. The one with yellow "wheels" holds a building tile.

These are the specially designed robots that build without a plan. The one with yellow “wheels” holds a building tile.  (Eliza Grinnell / Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences)

These robots rely on cues from their local environment to decide how to build structures. The engineers who built them took their inspiration from termites.

Robots at work

The bio-inspired robots get busy building a wall.  (Eliza Grinnell / Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences)

Science & Medicine

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