Researchers at Harvard University in Massachusetts are developing soft Lego-inspired blocks to advance soft-bodied robot research and create self-replicating robots in the future.

They've built a range of soft-bodied robots such as a limbo-dancing squid with bendy tentacles based on pneumatics and flexible plastics.

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All robot models required unique molds so the team led by George Whitesides thought of a way to build more robots by molding building blocks that connect to one another, according to New Scientist.

Whitesides and his colleagues looked to Lego bricks as an inspiration. The team used a 3D printer to make a six-by-nine stud brick template and filled it with a flexible polymer.

The plastic is soft enough that a razor blade can be used to cut bricks of various sizes from the same die.

The team dubbed its invention "click-e-bricks," or click-fit elastomeric bricks since the recesses on the bottom click onto studs on the top of the bricks.

The researchers used the elastomeric bricks to create simple shapes. They were also able to take the models apart.

Unlike its Lego counterpart, the click-e-bricks' flexible components made it possible to make arches, cylinders and even a Mobius strip.

The team was also able to build soft robots able to bend and roll on the floor when powered by air.

Researchers, however, had to glue the spaces between bricks to ensure a snug fit and prevent the pneumatics from leaking.

Integrating other materials inside the models developed the concept of the elastomeric bricks even further. Scientists put bricks having microfluidic channels on top of each other to send liquids in various directions.

Whitesides and his colleagues also created a short-term light with an LED and batteries.

In the future, the researchers aspire to make the soft robots able to modify the bricks. This feat could lead to bots that swap pieces in and out when required and that can self-replicate.

TagsResearch, Robotics, soft robots, Pneumatics, hydraulics, scientific research, Science