Researchers at Caltech have created a robot capable of changing shape in the air—an innovation that could have come straight out of the “Transformers” movie franchise.
The robot, which closely resembles a drone, can move both on wheels, like a vehicle, and fly or glide in the air.
They detailed how the invention, called the Aerially Transforming Morphobot (ATMO), works in a scientific article published in the journal Communications Engineering in April.
According to them, the ATMO uses four propellers covered by a casing that transforms them into wheels. To switch to aerial mode, the motor activates a central joint that moves the propellers, enabling flight.
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“We designed and built a new robotic system inspired by nature—how animals can use their bodies in different ways to achieve different types of locomotion,” said the study’s lead author, Ioannis Mandralis.
He further explained that the transformation happens through an algorithmic system that predicts the robot’s actions to adjust it accordingly. “The control algorithm is the greatest innovation of this paper.”
“We introduced a dynamic system that has never been studied before. Once the robot starts transforming, you get different dynamic couplings—different forces interacting with each other. And the control system must be able to respond quickly to all of this.”
Photo and video: Ioannis Mandralis / YouTube @ioannismandralis8049. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
