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Kilobot Robot Swarm
Kilobots are small robots that sit on a circuit board about the size of a quarter. They cost just $15 apiece to make, but you'd want to make a lot of them, because their strength is in swarming, cooperative behaviors.
(Kilobots explained)
Kilobots can communicate with each other using light; they can move in curves or in straight lines. Take a look at this next video to see examples of different simulated 'natural' group behaviors.
(Kilobot swarming behaviors video)
What possible good are tiny swarming robots? One of the earliest descriptions of this idea is found in the 1941 short story The Mechanical Mice by Maurice Hugi (a pseudonym of Eric Frank Russell's).
This idea was developed later by writers like Ray Bradbury and Greg Bear, who created robot mice and forensic dustmice, respectively.
See also these articles for similar real-life robot swarms: Cubelets - Buy A Robot Swarm For $300, Mini Robot Swarms and SwisTrack Swarm Analysis Of Robots And Roaches.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/18/2011)
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