# Enabling Collective Locomotion, Manipulation, and Navigation by Entangled Swarms of Soft Robots

> **NSF 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · Harvard University (MA) · $600,000

## Abstract

This grant supports research to enable understanding and design of swarms of string-like soft robots, capable of moving around their environment independently, or of tangling together to operate as a collective. The project seeks to create programs for the individual robots to follow so that, when in their entangled state, they can collectively move in response to external stimuli and transport or manipulate objects. For example, a swarm of individual robots might separately search an area for a designated object. Upon locating the object, the robots could rapidly retrieve it by forming an entangled collective to pick up the object, encapsulate it in a ball, and roll to the desired destination. This ability to act separately over a wide area but to come together to gain additional functions when needed, could one day enable important new applications in environmental monitoring or security surveillance. This work is inspired by the remarkable behavior of California blackworms, which form entangled 'blobs' under certain environmental conditions, but can disentangle almost instantly when appropriate. Like the blackworm, the entangled robots will be designed to to adjust their collective mechanical properties, such as stiffness, through the responses of the individual components, potentially surpassing the known locomotion and manipulation capabilities of the biological organism. In addition to the contributions to robotics, this work will provide insights into prediction and 

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2431757
- **Awardee organization:** Harvard University (MA)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** LN53LCFJFL45
- **PI:** Justin K Werfel
- **Primary program:** 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** ROBOTICS
- **Estimated total:** $600,000
- **Funds obligated:** $600,000
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 06/01/2026 → 05/31/2030

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2431757

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2431757, Enabling Collective Locomotion, Manipulation, and Navigation by Entangled Swarms of Soft Robots. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-07 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2431757. Licensed CC0.

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