Nature has spent millions of years perfecting teamwork. Bees swarm together in coordinated clouds. Schools of fish shift direction almost instantly. Bats and whales use sound to navigate and communicate across long distances. Now, scientists are borrowing those same ideas to design a new generation of tiny robots that may someday work together inside disaster zones, polluted waterways and even the human body. An international team of researchers has created a computer model showing that simple microrobots can organize themselves into intelligent-like swarms using only sound waves. The study demonstrates how acoustic communication can transform basic robotic units into coordinated collectives capable of sensing, adapting and rebuilding themselves. The research was led by Igor Aronson, Huck Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Mathematics at Penn State. “Picture swarms of bees or midges,” Aronson said. “They move, that creates sound, and the sound keeps them cohesive, many individuals acting as one.” Acoustically communicating active matter. (CREDIT: Physical Review X) The findings could help scientists design future microrobots that perform difficult tasks in places humans cannot …