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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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MIT's Tiny Robot Boats Could Build Bridges, Stages and Floating Cities on Demand Within Minutes. Here's How

Imagine visiting a city where a bridge appears only when people need to cross a river. Or a floating stage forms automatically for a music festival and disappears once the event is over. After a natural disaster, rescue teams could instantly create temporary platforms to help people reach safety.

This may sound like science fiction, but researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have turned this vision into reality with an innovative robotic system called FloatForm.

FloatForm is a group of small, intelligent robotic boats that can connect with each other, separate, and rebuild themselves into different floating structures with very little human control. This groundbreaking technology could completely change how cities use rivers, lakes, and canals in the future.

A New Way to Build on Water

Most people think of waterfronts as the end of a city. MIT researchers see them as an opportunity to create flexible and programmable spaces.

Instead of constructing permanent bridges or platforms, FloatForm allows small robotic boats to assemble into whatever structure is needed at that moment. Once the task is finished, the robots simply separate and prepare for the next mission.

Each robot measures only 21 centimeters (8.3 inches) on each side—roughly the size of a dinner plate. Despite their small size, every robot contains its own battery, sensors, thrusters, computer, and magnetic connectors.

Working together, these robots behave like a team, transforming open water into useful infrastructure whenever required.

How the Robots Work Together

Unlike traditional robotic systems controlled by a single central computer, FloatForm gives each robot the ability to think and make decisions independently.

Every robot constantly communicates with its nearby neighbors, sharing its position and movement. Instead of waiting for commands, all robots move simultaneously toward a common goal.

A lightweight central planner simply tells each robot where it should end up. Everything else—including avoiding collisions, finding the correct path, and adjusting to changing conditions—is handled by the robots themselves.

Because every robot works at the same time, the system becomes much faster and more efficient.

This decentralized approach also makes FloatForm more reliable. If one robot experiences a problem, the others continue working without stopping the entire system.

Inspired by Fire Ants

The inspiration behind FloatForm came from nature.

Fire ants have an incredible survival strategy during floods. Thousands of ants connect their bodies together to create floating rafts without any leader directing them. Every ant simply follows simple local rules, and together they build a strong, stable structure.

MIT researchers wanted their robots to behave the same way.

Instead of relying on one computer to control everything, each robot acts as an independent member of a team. Together, they organize themselves into bridges, platforms, or other floating structures.

This biological inspiration makes the entire system far more scalable than traditional robotic swarms.

Building Like LEGO Blocks

One of FloatForm's most impressive features is its ability to repeatedly change shape.

In laboratory experiments, eight robots started from random positions inside a pool.

Within just a few minutes, they gathered together and formed a specific structure. Then they disconnected, rearranged themselves into an entirely new design, and finally moved together across the water as one larger floating vehicle.

Researchers completed these transformations in about four to eight minutes.

Computer simulations also showed that the same system could eventually control 64 robots or even much larger swarms.

Because each robot only communicates with nearby robots, adding more units does not make the calculations dramatically more difficult.

This means FloatForm could someday grow from dozens of robots to hundreds or even thousands.

A Smart Magnetic Connection

Connecting floating robots securely is not easy.

MIT engineers developed a unique magnetic latching system hidden inside each robot.

Using a small motor, an origami-inspired mechanism pushes powerful magnets outward to grab neighboring robots or pulls them inward to release them.

The magnets automatically align with alternating magnetic poles, allowing the robots to connect into neat square formations.

Even more impressive, the locking mechanism uses almost no electricity once connected.

The motor only consumes power while locking or unlocking. After that, a specially designed gearbox keeps everything firmly in place without draining the battery.

Since battery life is limited on small robots, this energy-saving design is a major advantage.

Stable Even in Rough Water

When connected together, the robots become much more stable.

A single small boat can easily be pushed around by waves or water currents.

However, once multiple robots join into one larger platform, the entire structure becomes stronger and steadier—similar to the floating rafts created by fire ants.

This increased stability could make FloatForm useful for many real-world applications where water conditions constantly change.

Overcoming Engineering Challenges

Creating FloatForm was far from simple.

Each robot moves using four miniature thrusters arranged in an X-shaped layout, allowing movement in any direction, including spinning in place.

During early testing, however, the robots often rotated too aggressively because their motors were very powerful compared to their lightweight bodies.

Researchers solved this by adding stabilizing fins that increased water resistance and carefully adjusting the control software.

The magnetic connectors created another challenge.

Sometimes the magnets held so tightly that robots struggled to disconnect.

The engineers eventually developed movement techniques that allowed robots to twist themselves free whenever necessary.

Successful Testing

The research team tested FloatForm many times inside a controlled water tank.

With four robots, the system completed its missions successfully about 90% of the time.

With eight robots, the success rate reached around 70%, despite the added complexity.

Even when problems occurred, the robots showed remarkable resilience.

If one robot temporarily lost its position, it could find its way back and reconnect without interrupting the rest of the swarm.

If robots became stuck while assembling, they automatically adjusted their movements and tried again until they succeeded.

Real-World Applications

FloatForm has enormous potential far beyond laboratory experiments.

Researchers believe these robotic swarms could eventually create:

  • Temporary emergency bridges after floods or earthquakes

  • Floating rescue platforms during disasters

  • Mobile stages for concerts and public events

  • Floating markets on rivers and canals

  • Temporary docks for boats

  • Offshore maintenance platforms

  • Environmental monitoring stations

  • Scientific research platforms

  • Adaptive sensor networks for studying wildlife

Instead of building expensive permanent infrastructure, cities could deploy robotic platforms only when needed.

This would save both space and money while making urban environments much more flexible.

The Road Ahead

Although FloatForm has already demonstrated impressive capabilities, there is still work to do before it reaches real waterways.

Outdoor environments introduce stronger waves, changing weather, and more complex navigation challenges.

Future versions will likely use GPS and advanced computer vision instead of indoor positioning systems. Engineers also plan to strengthen the connection mechanisms so larger robots can withstand rougher water conditions.

The underlying coordination software, however, is already designed to work with different sensors, making future upgrades much easier.

A New Era of Programmable Water Infrastructure

FloatForm represents far more than a collection of tiny robotic boats.

It introduces a completely new way of thinking about cities and public spaces. Instead of building fixed infrastructure that remains unchanged for decades, future waterfronts could become adaptable environments that change whenever people need them.

Whether creating emergency bridges, floating classrooms, research stations, or temporary public spaces, these self-assembling robots demonstrate how distributed robotics can transform the world's rivers, lakes, and canals into programmable extensions of our cities.

As this technology continues to develop, the simple question may no longer be "What can we build on land?" but "What can we build anywhere—including on water?"

Reference: Wang, W., Hagemann, N., Gonzalez-Garcia, A. et al. Self-reconfiguring modular robotic boats. Nat Commun 17, 5626 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74527-6

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