Best taken 1,000 at a time
Posted 06.16.2011 at 4:30 pm
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One Singular Kilobot
These tiny Kilobots are not named for their heft. The ‘bots are roughly the size of a quarter and move about on tiny vibrating toothpick legs. Individually, they aren’t much to look at. But Kilobots aren’t supposed to be taken in individually--they’re designed to swarm in the thousands, and at $14 a pop they very well may be doing so soon.
Developed at the Self Organizing Systems Research Group at Harvard, Kilobots demonstrate some interesting swarm behaviors, even if they’re not necessarily “doing” anything yet. In this case, the robots can all be programmed to perform a task at the same time in less than 40 seconds via an overhead infrared controller. And once a task is set before them, they can communicate with other Kilobots in their immediate vicinity to carry out their programming.
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Technology, Clay Dillow, harvard, kilobots, robotics, robots, swarm robots, VideoFrom there it’s just a short leap to swarms of larger (and smaller) robots that can execute a variety of tasks for their human overseers, and just one more short leap to complete enslavement of the human species. Science!
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Soon we will have cheap nanobots that will be able to comunicate more easily with each other and be able to build things easily in places humans can't like those sometimes risky space walks if we have naos there they can repair the satilates so nasa can put other thing innthe shuttles beside repair equipement and save money for amazing things
nothing will be put in the shuttles soon, back on topic, this and other small advances add up to huge strides towards robots/AI taking over, these researchers hopefully are preparing to avert a bad outcome for us (swarms of terminator type robots)
And soon, grey goo. Well ... we humans had a good run.
Does Stargate's Replicators ring any bell to anyone?
We're doomed!!!
It looks like none of you heard about the three laws of robotics...sigh.
I personally want one of those old Football games with the vibrating football field made out of these. Have a set of plays laid out for the game, pick one, have them march up to the line in formation, snap the ball fade back, pass the ball to another bot signifying it he caught it or not with the different colored LED's and have him charge down the field for a touchdown. I'd pay serious money for that.
@P4T0U...the three laws of robotics worked nice in a movie, one devious hack and oops, no more laws, wake up
You guys realize these aren't some amazing intelligence, right?
If you think back throughout the history of the world, what model of intelligence has been the most harmful to humans:
1) a superior intelligence that rules the world
2) completely stupid and not-really-alive viruses
These swarm-bots aren't going to turn into Skynet, they are too simple. BUT, they very easily COULD turn into "virus-like" entities that are harmful.
It's much more likely that some artificial & "stupid" thing ends up causing problems--like nanobots that follow very basic algorithms, but result in unintended consequences... not some artificially "intelligent" entity that decides to be "evil".
@B.V., of course these are not smart, just one step of many leading down a dangerous path, if the DOD is worried about it shouldn't the rest of us worry?
everybody keep in mind that the average american household is fully prepared to deal with an angry swarm of these things. all you need is a broom and dustpan.
This is all well and good, but until we get over our big egos and believe we're "not" in control of evrything & evryone then maybe we can maintain peace amongst the Earth, and ourselves.
Even in the distant 80-ies famous last century mercilessly kicked USSR was designed and produced standard anti-ship missiles. Launched a flock of missiles possessed the collective mind - the separation of in-flight goals together to achieve maximum effect it striking group of enemy ships ... A quarter of a century, and pack Kilobots attack - what?