It's very cool and very clever from a hacking and engineering standpoint but I don't see what they're aiming for.
It seems they want to make groups of cubes that can autonomously reconfigure themselves, but what will they do once they get that? What task could they achieve?
I guess it could make a fun toy but I can't think of anything else.
"But the researchers believe that a more refined version of their system could prove useful even at something like its current scale. Armies of mobile cubes could temporarily repair bridges or buildings during emergencies, or raise and reconfigure scaffolding for building projects. They could assemble into different types of furniture or heavy equipment as needed. And they could swarm into environments hostile or inaccessible to humans, diagnose problems, and reorganize themselves to provide solutions."
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/simple-scheme-for-self-as...
It seems they want to make groups of cubes that can autonomously reconfigure themselves, but what will they do once they get that? What task could they achieve?
I guess it could make a fun toy but I can't think of anything else.