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Tiny Robots At Play, In Words And Pictures
justin sane writes: "The NY Times has an article about the one of the tiniest
functioning robots to date.[Note: free reg. req. [?] -- t.] They faced numerous problems and build the robots layer by layer with photolithography on expoxy compounds. The microprocessor is raw (i.e. without a package to save on size). The batteries are the biggest part by far (not surprisingly). There is an MPEG of
one in action as it's speed 20 in/min velocity but alas it just looked like a photo album on my M$ player--still the photos are cool. No word if they are working on a port of Embedded Linux that can run the 8k memory space though. That would be my next step, then ... Python ;-)"
We finally seem to be getting down to a decent size for planet exploration. Harden them up a bit, and drop them over a terrain. They shouldn't need much cushioning, as they'll weigh very little.
Give them a single burst radio broadcasting capability, so they can report back, and you're away. Cheap, light, low volume - how many can you fit in a Mars probe? This should be great way of exploring new habitats.
One alternative to just dropping them is to land, and then spew them out - that way you get a lot more detailed information about a small area, and can control them so that if one of them finds something interesting, they can all go and investigate. Next step, of course, is to allow them to collaborate, and decide to do it themselves.