Futuristic films often depict giant robots or robots that appear uncannily human--but what about a swarm of tiny robots?

That's exactly what a Harvard University laboratory has created: 1,024 robots each just 1.2 inches across and 2 inches high that act as one entity, Reuters reported.

"This is a 'collective' of robots--a group of robots that work together to complete a common goal," said Harvard computer scientist and lead researcher Michael Rubenstein, as quoted by Reuters. "If you call collective artificial intelligence the ability of a 'collective' to start to behave as a single entity, you could call this collective artificial intelligence."

The tiny machines, which are called Kilobots, can communicate with one another and organize themselves into various structures; for example, a certain command will cause the robots to make themselves into the letter "K" or other two-dimensional shapes.

Their name is a play on "kilobit," a word signifying 1,024 pieces of digital information.

Publishing their findings in the journal Science, the research team said the robots are intended to work together and sense each other's location through infrared light. Gliding best over smooth surfaces, Kilobots can be built with around $14 worth of materials and use vibration motors to move around.

The study precedes future robot expeditions where a collective of automatons is sent to complete a task; using a swarm can be handy since if a robot breaks down, plenty will be left to get the job done, Rubenstein said.

While the idea of a robotic swarm may sound like horror picture material, the researcher shrugged off the idea that these tiny machines pose a risk.

"I tell people that these robots are not very dangerous. The only way that they could hurt you is if you try to eat one. They can't even go over a piece of paper. So they're kind of stuck where they are," Rubenstein said.

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