About the Workshop

Robotic matter, active metamaterials, and soft robots are increasingly converging toward a new class of robotic systems whose capabilities arise from the tight coupling of mechanics, materials, embodiment, and distributed control. In these systems, functionality emerges from computation and actuation as well as from local interactions, physical structure, and programmable material response. This half-day workshop will bring together researchers across robotics, materials science, mechanics, and physics to explore the foundational principles that govern such systems and to define a common framework for understanding robotic matter and active metamaterials as an emerging direction in robotics. Topics will include self-organizing robot collectives, programmable mechanical and material properties, morphologically adaptive locomotion, embodied sensing, and robotic systems that exhibit phase-like transitions, collective responses, and environment-dependent behaviors. Our intention with this workshop is to highlight the growing integration of swarm robotics, soft robotics, and metamaterials into a unified vision for adaptive and self-organizing robotic systems. The program will include invited talks from established leaders and rising researchers, a poster and demonstration session, and a panel discussion on key challenges and future opportunities. By connecting communities that often evolve in parallel, the workshop will foster new collaborations, reveal the shared principles across the disciplines we have invited, and help shape the future of robotic systems that increasingly blur the boundary between robots and materials.