Researchers at Northwestern University have developed the first artificial intelligence capable of designing robots from scratch. The research team offers a simple tip for artificial intelligence: Design a robot that can walk on a flat surface. After a few seconds, the artificial intelligence spit out a design for a crude "robot" that could shake in place.

Artificial intelligence identified the robot's flaws and made modifications. By the 10th iteration, the AI ​​created a robot that actually seemed to be able to move on a flat surface. At this point, the team had to make it a reality.

They created a 3D printed model of the negative space around the robot's body and filled it with liquid silicone rubber. After curing for a few hours, the squishy robot was ready for testing. By repeatedly inflating and then deflating, the robot can move. Mission accomplished.

"We discovered a very fast AI-driven design algorithm that can bypass evolutionary traffic jams without being subject to the biases of human designers," said Northwestern University's Sam Kriegman, the project's principal investigator. "We tell the AI ​​we want a robot that can walk on land. Then, we just press a button and that's it! In the blink of an eye it generates a blueprint for a robot that looks identical to any animal that has ever walked the Earth. I call this process 'instant evolution.'"

Not everyone will be as impressed with the creation as Kriegman and company, and they know that. "When people see this robot, they might think it's a useless gadget," Kligman said. "What I saw was the birth of a whole new organism."

Perhaps most impressively, the AI ​​ran on a regular laptop, and the entire design process took only about 26 seconds from start to finish. What's more, the team didn't provide the AI ​​with any design clues. It discovered on its own that legs were a good way to cross land, although it chose a three-legged design to get the job done.

It would be very interesting to see what kind of products AI could create given more time and guidance. Kriegman believes that AI-designed robots will one day help humans in a variety of ways. The only obstacle now, he says, is that we don't know how to design them.

The team's research results have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.