Hong Kong - In a breakthrough combining the maneuverability of flying and swimming robots with the traversal abilities of ground-based ones, researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have unveiled a unique robot that looks like a snail but moves more like a tiny tank. Their invention, described in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, could pave the way for a new generation of robots capable of constructing complex 3D structures and navigating challenging environments.

"Most mobile robots today are limited to moving in just two dimensions - across flat surfaces or by flying or swimming," explained lead researcher Dr. Yun Zhang. "Our snail-like robots have the ability to create their own three-dimensional space by stacking upon one another and anchoring together."

The key innovation is a retractable suction cup located between two bulldozer-like tracks that allow the robot to roll across various terrains. When one robot extends its suction cup to latch onto the shell of another robot in front of it, they can essentially form a robotic train, crawling in a line. But the real magic happens when multiple snail bots connect - they can reconfigure themselves into stair-step formations to climb over obstacles or even construct bridges spanning gaps.

"It's similar in concept to how ants link together to create chains crossing small crevices," said Zhang. "Except with our robots, we have much more control over the resulting 3D shapes and structures they assemble into."

Each snail robot contains its own microprocessor, allowing it to operate independently or seamlessly coordinate movements with the rest of the swarm via local communication between units. Embedded magnets in the tracks provide additional adhesion to connect shells together when scaling vertically.

In tests, the robotic snails demonstrated an ability to freely traverse flat lands, climb up and down stairs in linear formation, and even have some units lift off to create an ad hoc bridge for others to cross a gap. Zhang's team sees myriad potential applications, from assisting search and rescue operations by squeezing into collapsed buildings to serving as self-assembling exploratory probes on future planetary missions.

"For now, we control these robots remotely," Zhang admitted. "But the goal is to develop sophisticated enough programming for the swarms to self-organize and make autonomous decisions about what morphologies to adopt for solving different environmental challenges encountered."

As robotic design philosophy increasingly takes inspiration from the natural world, the novel concept of using robots that can quite literally roll with the punches and adapt their very bodily forms to the terrain could be the basis for a highly versatile new robotics platform. The lowly snail's slow and steady climb may turn out to be an ingenious model for conquering obstacles in the future.