EPFL's Modular Robot Collective Gets More Reliable as It Grows — Not Less

Researchers at EPFL's Reconfigurable Robotics Lab published a breakthrough in Science Robotics demonstrating that modular robot collectives can become more reliable — not less — as more modules are added. Their Mori3 robot system uses local resource sharing: modules share power, sensor data, and communication with their neighbors, so if one module loses its own resources, the collective compensates. In experiments, a module deprived of power, sensing, and communication still completed a locomotion mission in a challenging environment, supported entirely by its neighbors. The work reverses a fundamental assumption in robotics — that more components mean more failure points — and could reshape how future home and service robots are designed for resilience.