Robotic assembly of large structures, made possible with swarms of relatively simple robots and construction materials organized like building blocks, could change how aircraft and buildings are constructed, said MIT researchers.

Years ago, MIT Professor Neil Gershenfeld had an audacious thought. Struck by the fact that all the world’s living things are built out of combinations of just 20 amino acids, he wondered: Might it be possible to create a kit of just 20 fundamental parts that could be used to assemble all of the different…