How physical intelligence is reshaping robotics

The Pentagon’s advanced research arm is asking scientists and engineers to rethink how robots sense and move by pushing more intelligence into their hardware. In a new request for information, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is seeking ideas for materials and components that can intermix sensing, computation, and actuation—allowing machines to react in real time without constant reliance on external processors or communications links.

The exploratory call is intended to shape future programs and an invite-only, in-person workshop planned for summer 2026. Respondents whose concepts align with DARPA’s technical priorities and mission needs may be invited to present and help steer next steps.

The agency frames the effort as a response to the limits of today’s software-heavy robotics in contested or communications-poor settings. Instead of routing data through centralized compute, DARPA is exploring “physical intelligence,” in which the structure of a robot—and the materials within it—perform elements of perception, control, and decision-making to boost speed, energy efficiency, and resilience in unstructured environments.

“Today’s robots are often limited by the need to sense, process, and act as separate steps,” said DARPA Program Manager Julian McMorrow. “We are interested in collapsing that loop by embedding intelligence directly into the hardware, so systems can respond in real time without relying on constant data movement.”

DARPA highlights two technical thrusts:
– Actuation and sensing: materials and structures that blend sensing, actuation, and elements of control in the same substrate.
– Dynamic and adaptive closed-loop compute: embedding computation within sensors and actuators to enable ultra-low-latency, low-power decision-making that adapts continuously to changing conditions.

The agency is not looking for incremental gains or high-level system concepts disconnected from enabling hardware. It also signals a willingness to depart from humanlike form factors common in commercial robotics, favoring designs—whether smaller, larger, softer, or structurally unconventional—optimized for mission performance.

Responses are due by May 27, 2026, at 2 p.m. ET. Additional details and submission instructions are available under Special Notice DARPA-SN-26-76 on SAM.gov.