A Shannon-inspired framework for multi-legged matter transport

During the last century, Shannon predicted that signals could be reliably transmitted over noisy channels based on digital redundant coding in the form of binary bit sequences. Such prediction has become increasingly critical in modern communication. Here, we establish an analogous framework to describe matter transport, in the manner of robot locomotion, over noisy landscapes. The key idea is to digitize thrust-generation via basic active contacts, bacs. Theory and experiments demonstrate that appropriate temporal and/or spatial bac generation (via serially-connected modular robots) can facilitate reliable transport of multi-legged systems on laboratory and field rugose terrains without the need for complex sensing/control. We hypothesize that the analogy between signal and matter transportation can accelerate development of devices with mobility approaching that of living systems.