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    "story_id": "mp-2026-09-02-007",
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    "headline": "A Bridge Swarm Coordinated Without Radio",
    "slug": "a-bridge-swarm-coordinated-without-radio",
    "dek": "SCARAB agents localize, dock and assemble aquatic formations without GPS or inter-agent communication.",
    "summary": "SCARAB agents localize, dock and assemble aquatic formations without GPS or inter-agent communication.",
    "body_text": "The proposed unmanned surface vehicles use onboard sensing of peers and docking targets, then follow distributed controls toward a requested configuration. Physics-engine simulations add currents and wind while the agents join formations without radio-frequency links. The work describes a military bridging concept with possible disaster-relief use; it does not report a completed field crossing.",
    "why_it_matters": "SCARAB agents localize, dock and assemble aquatic formations without GPS or inter-agent communication.",
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      "The work describes a military bridging concept with possible disaster-relief use; it does not report a completed field crossing."
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    "modified_at": "2026-09-02T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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        "qualification": "The work describes a military bridging concept with possible disaster-relief use; it does not report a completed field crossing."
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    "tags": [
      "robot swarms",
      "aquatic robots",
      "distributed control"
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  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-09-02-007",
      "title": "arXiv preprint 2609.01394",
      "publisher": "arXiv",
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    "title": "A Bridge Swarm Coordinated Without Radio",
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