The CKBot (Connector Kinetic Robot) consists of 15 modules/blocks that are further subdivided into three clusters. Each cluster has a camera and flashing lights. Because each light flashes with its own unique frequency the different parts can recognize the positions of the others. Then the parts crawl to one another and reassemble themselves into one whole through the use of magnets. Communication occurs through infrared and a CAN-bus (network protocol without a main computer).
Future Vision by Erwin Van Lun on this article
In future these clusters will be perfected and mass-produced. At first they’ll be made for industrial or military robots that rebuild themselves into different structures, but soon after they’ll be made into objects for consumers. Think of key rings that find their way back to the car, telephones that transform themselves into the battery charger or the first aibo that you have to take for a walk. It’s a small step, but the potential is clearly present.