The shells could potentially be performing a huge amount of functions; some of the ones tested by the MIT’s Media Lab are fan shells able to blow air, knob and slider shells, two-degree of freedom rotation shells or vehicle and traffic-light shells. The system also allows for more robots to cooperate to achieve greater performance and a stronger resulting force allowing other types of shells like a robotic gripper, haptic joystick shell, a linear force accumulation shell or a lift shell to be produced. The MIT’s Media Lab combined multiple of these shells together, showing different prototypical scenarios of how this system could be implemented, for example, recreating a tangible mobility simulator or an animated storytelling performance.
A great potential could be already foreseen in such a system: even though these shells and robots are at a prototype level, they could be easily scaled up to be employed in real-life scenarios. It would not be a long stretch to imagine a linear force accumulator shell used in a warehouse to move goods or traffic light and vehicle shells to be the new future of mobility.
The HERMITS project should be of great importance for the robotics world because it conceives robots able to mutate functions without actually adapting to the situation, simply using a shell-docking system.
Prototyping through the method used by the MIT’s Media Lab, i.e. creating a robot formed of separate pieces and alone-standing parts, means that each element could be designed, tested, and produced separately, a groundbreaking methodology in today’s technological production.
HERMITS shows the great power research labs have in producing and testing new technologies. Companies like Sony or governmental subsidised organisations often experiment on technologies according to what the market dictates or what would return a greater profit, but these reasons do not constrain a research lab like MIT’s. Experimentation within academic research laboratories is essential to bring on the table original and innovative technologies.
MIT’s Media Lab is one of the most renowned organisations in research and academia; it sees professors, researchers, and students working together and collaborating with designers, artists, and scientists to create innovative designs true to their motto: creating technologies and experiences that can transform peoples’ lives. Plenty of the projects investigated at the MIT facilities often grow out of it to be acquired by companies or displayed in exhibitions. This emphasizes the relevance of the HERMITS robots and the other ongoing investigations research labs are carrying out.
The HERMITS crab shells are extremely relevant for the development of our technologies. It is a project that brings simplicity to very complex ideas separating the final product into smaller and individual elements; it shows the importance of cleverly prototyping to save money, energy, and time and gives a clear idea of the potential in modifying existing technologies to improve their functionality.