{"689240":{"#nid":"689240","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Smartest Robots May Be the \u2018Dumbest\u2019 Ones","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers have created swarms of tiny robotic particles that move and self-organize using only mechanical design \u2014 no electronics, software, or sensors. By encoding behavior in each particle\u2019s shape, the team can control how the swarm spreads and reconfigures, with potential applications in medicine and space.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/node\/45225\u0022\u003ERead more \u00bb\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"A Georgia Tech researcher built a robotic swarm with no electronics, no batteries, and no brains. He cut the cord \u2014 and the robots came to life."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers have created swarms of tiny robotic particles that move and self-organize using only mechanical design \u2014 no electronics, software, or sensors. By encoding behavior in each particle\u2019s shape, the team can control how the swarm spreads and reconfigures, with potential applications in medicine and space.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech engineers have created electronics-free robotic swarms whose collective intelligence emerges entirely from mechanical design, enabling coordinated behavior for applications in medicine, space, and beyond."}],"uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2026-03-30 17:49:06","changed_gmt":"2026-03-30 17:53:33","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-03-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-03-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"679780":{"id":"679780","type":"image","title":"new-potential-image-5.png","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech engineers have created electronics-free robotic swarms whose collective intelligence emerges entirely from mechanical design, enabling coordinated behavior for applications in medicine, space, and beyond.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1774893030","gmt_created":"2026-03-30 17:50:30","changed":"1774893030","gmt_changed":"2026-03-30 17:50:30","alt":"Abstract illustration of clustered white nanoscale particles moving through a dark vessel with signal waves.","file":{"fid":"263982","name":"new-potential-image-5.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/03\/30\/new-potential-image-5.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/03\/30\/new-potential-image-5.png","mime":"image\/png","size":680610,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/03\/30\/new-potential-image-5.png?itok=xm1J3Rru"}}},"media_ids":["679780"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193658","name":"Commercialization"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"},{"id":"193657","name":"Space Research Initiative"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}