Innovator at Work

 Daniela Rus’ Robotic Bag of Sand

History holds lessons, even for those designing futuristic robots. Daniela Rus, a computer scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found inspiration in Michelangelo’s statue of David. “David came out of the marble, and we thought we could also make things appear out of a block,” she says. That germ of an idea inspired Rus, a 2002 recipient of the MacArthur “genius” award, to begin work on a project that will eventually allow someone to reach into a bag of sand and pull out any device or structure imaginable. It’s like Harry Potter meets The Matrix, since the “bag of sand” is actually a collection of tiny robots. The robots can sense their neighbours, receive commands and attach to each other to form objects. The idea is that workers—especially those in remote or extreme conditions, such as scientists in Antarctica—could leave behind bulky toolboxes and instead bring along the high-tech sand. When a tool is needed, whether it be an adjustable wrench or a screw, they could toss a small model of the object into a bag containing a clump of sand or transmit electronic blueprints to it.

The smart sand grains would communicate with one another and magnetically form into the shape within seconds. Once the tool is no longer needed, the sand could be reused. “This could have an impact on building and manufacturing of complex devices,” says Robert Wood, founder of Harvard Microrobotics Lab. The project has a long way to go, but Rus, 48, already has a working prototype. At this point she has about 50 robotic blocks. They’re relatively large—about two-fifths of an inch on a side—but she’s gotten them to form geometric shapes. Since the components are programmable, she can also create small humanoid figures.

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