Here's how an AI can design robots from scratch

The computer first started with a shapeless block, which was about the size of a soap. (Image: Northwestern University)

Researchers at the Northwestern University in the US have made an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven design algorithm that can intelligently create new robots.

“We discovered a very fast AI-driven design algorithm that bypasses the traffic jams of evolution, without falling back on the bias of human designers,” said Sam Kriegman, assistant professor at the university and project lead.

Kriegman says that the team, "told the AI" that "they wanted a robot that could walk across land". Following the prompt, the algorithm generated a blueprint which, "looks nothing like any animal that has ever walked the earth". Kriegman calls the process "instant evolution".

The robot itself is "squishy and misshapen" and made mostly from inorganic materials, but Kriegman says that this will change as the technology evolves. According to him, this represents a new era of AI-designed tools that can act directly in the world.

Wait. But how does the AI design the robot? 

What's interesting is that the team says the entire process took just 26 seconds on a laptop. The computer first started with a shapeless block, which was about the size of a soap.

From there, and through a process of rapid iteration, where the AI assessed the design and noted flaws, the block was slowly molded into a shape that could bounce in place, hop forward and shuffle.

After nine tries, the computer finally generated a shape that could, "walk half its body length per second" with half the speed of a human stride.

Kriegman says that the AI eventually came up with the same solution as nature. It gave the robot legs but took a slightly different approach. The robot has three legs, fins, and is "riddled with holes".

Once this blueprint was complete, the team then printed a 3D mold of the negative space around the structure and filled it with liquid silicone and rubber. After a couple of hours of curing, the team filled the robot body with air.

As the air deflated from the body, the three legs contracted. By continuously pumping air in and out  of the body, they were able to get the robot to move with "slow and steady locomotion".