Essential to reconfigurability is modularity of hardware and software.

Modular exploratory robotic vehicles that will be able to reconfigure themselves in the field are undergoing development. These vehicles at the initial concept stage were described in “Reconfigurable Exploratory Robotic Vehicles” (npo-20944-), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 25, No. 7 (July 2001), page 56. Proposed for use in exploration of the surfaces of Mars and other remote planets, these vehicles and others of similar design could also be useful for exploring hostile terrain on Earth.