Oxford scientists have created “soft” robots that think with their bodies, not their brains — moving, sensing, and even coordinating on their own without any electronics or programming.
Imagine a robot that doesn’t need a brain, battery, or computer to move — one that’s completely powered by air. Sounds impossible, right?
But a research team led by the University of Oxford has turned that idea into reality. In a groundbreaking study published in Advanced Materials, scientists revealed a new class of soft robots that operate using nothing but air pressure — no wires, no circuits, no code.
These air-driven “fluidic robots” can perform complex, rhythmic movements and even synchronize with each other automatically, just like living creatures do.
The result is a step toward a new generation of intelligent machines that don’t rely on processors or algorithms — instead, their design and materials themselves give rise to smart behavior.
Professor Antonio Forte, who leads the Robotics and Additive Design Laboratory (RADLab) at Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science, said it best:
“We are excited to see that brain-less machines can spontaneously generate complex behaviors, decentralizing functional tasks to the peripheries and freeing up resources for more intelligent tasks.”
In simpler words — these robots can “think” with their bodies.
What Makes Soft Robots Special
Soft robots are not your typical metal-and-bolt machines. They’re made from flexible materials, often resembling human muscles or animal tissue. Because they can bend, stretch, and twist, soft robots are excellent for tasks where traditional robots struggle — such as moving across rough terrain, squeezing through tight spaces, or handling delicate objects like fruit, tissue, or living organisms.
However, the biggest challenge in soft robotics has always been control.
To move in a coordinated way, most robots rely on sensors, circuits, and computer programs. But when your body is soft and squishy, wiring it up with electronics becomes difficult — and often defeats the purpose of being “soft” in the first place.
That’s why researchers have long dreamed of robots that can control themselves — not through external programming, but through their physical structure and the laws of physics.
This Oxford-led team has brought that dream one big step closer.
Learning from Nature’s Own Design
Nature doesn’t rely on central computers. Your heart doesn’t wait for your brain to tell it to beat. Jellyfish pulse through water without thinking. Fireflies flash together without a leader.
The Oxford team took inspiration from this “embodied intelligence” — where a system’s body and environment interact to create behavior without central control.
In nature, synchronization often happens automatically. Flocks of birds turn together, schools of fish move in harmony, and fireflies glow in rhythm — all without any single leader giving commands.
The researchers asked a simple but profound question:
Can we make robots that behave like that — not because they’re programmed to, but because of how they’re built?
Their answer came in the form of a small, modular air-powered component that acts like a mechanical building block — much like LEGO for robots.
How These Air-Powered Units Work
Each module is just a few centimeters wide and works entirely through air pressure. Depending on how it’s connected, this single component can do three different things — all mechanically:
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Actuate (move) in response to air pressure changes — like a muscle contracting.
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Sense pressure or contact — acting as a touch sensor.
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Switch airflow between ON and OFF — like a logic gate in a circuit.
That means this one building block can act as the brain, muscle, and sensor all at once.
By connecting several of these identical blocks, researchers could create different robots — such as a crawler that moves forward, a hopper that jumps, or a shaker that sorts small objects.
Each robot is about the size of a shoebox — and yet, despite having no electronics, it can perform tasks on its own.
The Moment They Came Alive
One of the most fascinating discoveries happened when the team linked several of these air-powered units together and applied constant air pressure.
Suddenly, something remarkable occurred.
Without any programming or instructions, the modules began to move rhythmically — like living creatures pulsing in sync.
Each block responded to the changing air pressure and mechanical feedback from its neighbors, and soon, their movements fell into harmony — shaking, crawling, or tilting in coordinated patterns.
This kind of spontaneous synchronization is known as an emergent behavior — meaning it arises naturally from simple interactions, rather than being designed or coded in advance.
Dr. Mostafa Mousa, lead author of the study, explained:
“This spontaneous coordination requires no predetermined instructions but arises purely from the way the units are coupled to each other and upon their interaction with the environment.”
In other words — the robots figure it out themselves.
Two Robots, Two Surprising Behaviors
The team demonstrated two robots that showcased this unique ability:
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The Shaker Robot – This one used a rotating platform that tilted and wobbled in a rhythmic pattern. By doing so, it could sort small beads into different containers — entirely through mechanical motion.
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The Crawler Robot – This soft robot could crawl across a surface using synchronized air-powered “legs.” When it reached the edge of a table, it automatically stopped — not because of programming, but because the pressure and mechanical feedback changed when its front legs lost contact with the surface.
In both cases, there were no sensors, computers, or code — only the physics of air and motion guiding their behavior.
That’s what makes this research so revolutionary.
The Science Behind the Synchrony
To understand why these brain-free robots could move in unison, the researchers turned to mathematics — specifically, a model called the Kuramoto model.
This model explains how networks of oscillators (things that move rhythmically, like pendulums or heart cells) can synchronize over time.
In the robots, each leg or air unit behaves like a tiny oscillator. When they’re connected and touch the ground, the forces of friction, compression, and rebound create a subtle feedback loop. Each unit influences the others through these physical interactions, leading to spontaneous coordination.
It’s a bit like fireflies syncing their flashes — except here, the communication happens through touch and pressure, not light.
Dr. Mousa drew this same comparison:
“Just as fireflies can begin flashing in unison after watching one another, the robot's air-powered limbs also fall into rhythm — but through physical contact with the ground rather than visual cues.”
That’s the beauty of embodied intelligence — the intelligence doesn’t come from code, but from the physics built into the system.
When Physics Becomes Intelligence
Traditional robots rely on centralized control — sensors feed data to a computer, the computer makes decisions, and motors carry them out.
But in this new approach, the control is distributed. The robot’s intelligence is not in a microchip; it’s in the material itself.
This idea of embedding computation into the physical structure — sometimes called morphological computation — is one of the most exciting directions in robotics today.
Professor Forte explained:
“Encoding decision-making and behavior directly into the robot’s physical structure could lead to adaptive, responsive machines that don’t need software to ‘think.’ It is a shift from ‘robots with brains’ to ‘robots that are their own brains.’”
This could make future robots simpler, faster, and more energy-efficient, while still capable of smart, adaptive behaviors.
Why This Matters for the Future of Robotics
Soft robots have already shown promise in fields ranging from medicine and exploration to manufacturing and disaster response. But controlling them has always been the limiting factor — too many wires, sensors, and processors make them complex and fragile.
By removing the need for electronics altogether, Oxford’s air-powered robots open a new world of possibilities.
Here’s why that matters:
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Energy efficiency: These robots could operate in environments where power is limited — like deep oceans, outer space, or disaster zones.
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Safety: Without electric parts, they’re safer to use around humans, animals, or delicate materials.
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Adaptability: Their movements naturally adjust to changes in their environment, without needing pre-programmed responses.
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Simplicity: Fewer parts mean fewer points of failure, making them more durable and easier to maintain.
In short, these robots could thrive in places where traditional machines simply can’t.
A Glimpse Into the Future
For now, the robots built by the Oxford team are small — tabletop models roughly the size of a shoebox. But the design principles are scale-independent, meaning they could easily be scaled up or miniaturized for different applications.
The researchers are now exploring ways to build untethered versions — robots that carry their own compact air supply and can move freely. The goal is to create energy-efficient locomotors capable of working in extreme or unpredictable environments.
Imagine soft robots that crawl through collapsed buildings during rescue missions, or explore other planets without needing constant instructions.
They wouldn’t just react — they’d adapt.
From Brainless to Brilliant
What makes this research so fascinating is not just the technology, but the philosophy behind it.
We’re so used to thinking of intelligence as something that happens inside a brain — human or artificial. But nature, and now engineering, shows that intelligence can also emerge from the body itself.
By designing robots whose physical forms naturally give rise to coordination and adaptation, we’re learning to build machines that are simpler, yet smarter.
As Professor Forte put it, this is a shift from robots with brains to robots that are their own brains.
It’s a quiet revolution — one that could redefine how we think about artificial intelligence altogether.
Looking Ahead
While this research is still in its early stages, its implications are enormous. The idea that mechanical systems can display complex, synchronized behavior without computation could lead to entirely new kinds of machines — ones that are self-regulating, self-sensing, and self-adaptive.
Future generations of fluidic robots might work underwater, in tight biological environments, or in space — where electronic circuits fail but air pressure and materials still function.
And because their intelligence comes from their design, not software, they could continue functioning even when damaged or disrupted.
It’s a fascinating reminder that sometimes, less is more — and that simplicity can lead to complexity in surprising ways.
Conclusion: When Air Becomes Intelligence
The Oxford team’s discovery shows that robots don’t need brains to be smart. With clever design and the right materials, intelligence can emerge naturally — from air, motion, and interaction with the environment.
By proving that mechanical systems can move, sense, and synchronize entirely without electronics, this research marks a major leap toward self-organizing, adaptive machines — the kind that could one day explore the unknown or assist in human recovery.
In the words of Dr. Mousa:
“This study represents a major step forward towards programmable, self-intelligent robots.”
The future of robotics may not be built from silicon and code — but from soft materials, air pressure, and the elegant logic of physics itself.
Reference:
Mousa, A., Comoretto, J. T., Overvelde, J. T. B., & Forte, A. E. (2025). Multifunctional Fluidic Units for Emergent, Responsive Robotic Behaviors. Advanced Materials, e10298.
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202510298
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