When robots are cheap, why not build an army of them?
Posted 01.23.2013 at 2:53 pm
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A couple of years ago, Harvard’s Self Organizing Systems Research Group came up with an idea: make a robot so cheap that it’s not cost-prohibitive to buy a hundred, or even a thousand of them. Kilobots are the fruit of that idea. The tiny, $14-a-pop robots communicate with each other via infrared lights on their underbellies, which can be used to signal to other Kilobots in the vicinity. As such, they can be used to demonstrate and experiment with swarm behaviors distributed across huge numbers of robots, and in these new videos released by the Self Organizing Systems Research Group we see exactly that.
In the video above 100 Kilobots flock together toward a light source. That may look easy enough for a group of robots (it’s really not, but whatever), but in the second video we see groups of Kilobots similarly seeking out a light source, this time constrained by variously shaped objects that they are carrying. One object is itself moving, repeatedly bending at a mechanically actuated joint at its center. The Kilobots, imbued as they are with swarm intelligence, don’t even get flustered.
[Gizmag]
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Make about a million of these critters, communicate with them wireless, let them be powered by solar and then give them each a high voltage probe to attack. One by themselves is annoying, but thousands attacking can be lethal.
Ok, now were ready to make a science fiction B movie, with a mad scientist attempting to take over the world, lol
Robot I made an account a long time ago and frequently check comments to read your entertaining remarks. Annunaki creating humans, robots taking over the world and your always a glass half full kinda bot.
Keep up the good work! Stay Classy
~JediNinja
A while back, I wrote an article about how to build your own steerable vibrobot (like the Kilobot). Check it out:
www.hizook.com/blog/2011/09/08/infrared-remote-controlled-rc-steerable-vibrobot-created-naghi-sotoudeh
The one I wrote about uses an infrared remote control rather than (semi)autonomous operation. It's basically like a steerable hexbug / bristlebot.
When I saw the wiggling shape, I immediately imagined a person trying to break free of the swarm's "grasp".
JediNinja,
Thank you for your comments.
What do you think of the article? Take care. ;)
imaging what the robots could do with artificial intelligence.
If you combine all of the ideas in the comments we would end up with an army of Portal turrets.
OMG 3D space Invaders.
Now question is, " Can they do anything other than seek out new light, - Like: New Civilizations."
Will they Boldly go where noone has gone before? Lets put a swarm of'em on a satellite, and see if they can become an AI by themselves.
just know....
reminds me of films from junior high health class.
"The Luggage had an elemental nature, absolutely no brain, a homicidal attitude toward anything that threatened its master, and [Rincewind] wasn't quite sure that its insides occupied the same space-time framework as its outside."
~Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic
All those tiny tiny feet...