Video of KiloBots autonomously forming shapes. They're not fast, but it's still startling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=ZD1H70aQc7U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=ZD1H70aQc7U
The robots, called Kilobots, were designed to mimic the behavior of insects and other organisms that can cooperate with each other in large groups. Just like a swarm of bees or a flock of birds, an army of hundreds of robots can gather and collaborate with each other, moving into formation without any human help.
The Kilobots use vibration motors to slide across the surface and infrared lights to communicate with their neighbors.
To optimize the collaborative power of the Kilobots, the researchers equipped them with cooperative monitoring features. The Kilobots can even correct their own mistakes; if traffic jam forms somewhere within the robot swarm, or if a robot moves off-course, nearby robots can notice the problem and work with each other to fix it.
The Kilobots use vibration motors to slide across the surface and infrared lights to communicate with their neighbors.
To optimize the collaborative power of the Kilobots, the researchers equipped them with cooperative monitoring features. The Kilobots can even correct their own mistakes; if traffic jam forms somewhere within the robot swarm, or if a robot moves off-course, nearby robots can notice the problem and work with each other to fix it.
Comment