#robotswarms

Swarming flying robots can also be called “nano quadrotor”. These remarkable robots can take part in social movements such as pattern formation and swarming. They can also do flips and avoid obstacles. These robots were designed in the GRASP (General Robotics, Automation, Sensing, and Perception) lab at UPenn.

 http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/2012/dkdhd7sjkl.jpg

The inspiration of this robot came from organisms that have the ability to both fly and swarm, such as the Honeybee. Honeybees have discovered that working together is more beneficial than working individually and they have used it to working towards their advantage. Honeybees travel in a swarm to check out their surroundings and decide where is best to live. These robots are able to work together and move in unison through their sensors.  

Researchers hope that these swarming flying robots will eventually be able to replace human search and surveillance teams. This would be especially helpful after natural disasters. I think this is a societal win. Not many robots have the ability to swarm and hopefully with further technology this will prove to be very helpful and save many lives. This is a true bioinspired robot because it replicates the ability to swarm and fly that we see Honeybees doing in nature. 

Sources

http://singularityhub.com/2012/02/05/flying-robotic-swarm-of-nano-quadrotors-gets-millions-of-views-new-company/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/02/flying-robots-nano-quadrotor-drones-swarm_n_1249442.html

Discussion

One classmate asked: What types of sensory features would you see be added to this design for it to effectively operate as a search party? 

My response: I think that there would need to be thermal reception added to the robot to make it possible to operate as a search party. Perhaps the robot could be programed to sense the temperature of one's body heat and then send a signal to a rescue team. 

Another classmate asked: Do the robots develop swarming and pattern formation as they evolve, via machine learning? Or is this behavior somehow programmed in via social rules similar to this week's flocking activity?

My response: They are programed in the robot as 3-D relative positioning sensor. These sensors act as a proximity sensor, which is designed to enable inter-robot spatial-coordination and goal-directed flight.