Transforming robots are fascinating, and perhaps even necessary for work in certain environments — as has been hinted at by several renowned roboticists. I’ve come across some videos of transforming robots in my days, and thought I’d round them up in a neat little post. Here are videos and information on 6 noteworthy transformer projects.

1 Rayerd-X

First up is Rayerd-X (humorously pronounced Layered-X), mainly because of a fantastic finale transformation. This video is from the 9th Robo-One Competition, held in Tokyo, Japan 2006. The robot itself, created by Asurada, is 50cm tall and can transform into multiple different configurations, ranging from carousel to humanoid to spider. Its transformations are amazing to watch.

2 WR-07

Second in the line is called WR-07, created by Japanese group Himeji Soft Works. WR-07 can transform from a car to a humanoid robot. It looks really awesome to see him start walking after transforming, and even more impressive how fast he transforms back into a car.

3 TransBot

Coming up third, we have a CGI representation of an upcoming transformer toy named TransBot. I don’t think there are any videos available yet of the actual robot, who’s being developed by Korean company Yujin Robotics, but the intention is to have them battle eachother with their equipped laser-tag weapons (remote controlled by humans). Like WR-07, TransBot can transform from humanoid form to car.

4 Molecubes

Number four are the self-replicating robots of Cornell University. The robot is made up of modular cubes, called “molecubes” — each of which is identical. The robot itself emerges as a tower of these cubes and, if there are extra cubes around, can construct a replica of itself by using its body like a crane.

5 SuperBot

Moving further into the modular department (as opposed to monolithic transformers), here’s Superbot — a robot under development by ISI’s Polymorphic Robotics Lab. SuperBot is a robot made out of smaller modules, each of which can move autonomously — but when combined they can collaborate on producing more complex behavior. The first video blow shows the function of two modules, crawling like caterpillars or working together using a simple “gait” — the second video shows the modules arranged and walking as a biped. Their project page has a ton of other videos.

6 M-Tran III

M-Tran III is another modular robot that can configure itself into various shapes to do different kinds of gaits and movements. M-Tran’s modules can both be organized in lattice- and chainlike systems, and the combinations are discovered by the robot itself using genetic algorithms. M-Tran is being developed in Japan by AIST (National Instit. of Advanced Industrial Scence and Technology). See some more videos and pictures here.