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When Los Alamos Scientists Make Toys
redpop350 writes: "Mark Tilden of Los Alamos National Labs {I had the privilege once of waiting on him in the local hardware store} has apparently come up with a new diversion. Here's the link to the story. Cool Toys! His earlier creations bore a lot of resemblance to these, and I am sure they will be fun." We've mentioned B.I.O. Bugs before, but this is some cool background to go along with them.
The article does bring up the following mental picture:
"What do you think would happen if we could build cheap little credit card floor cleaners that match your linoleum? You could toss them on the floor and all you notice is that your floor is always clean and the cockroaches are nervous,"
I just can't help but laugh out loud at the thought of cockroaches developing a complex because of the moving floor. lol!
I read somewhere (Slashdot?) NASA was on the same strategy of sending small independent solar powered spider-like autonomous robots to futher explore the surface of mars beyond what was done by the pathfinder. The good thing is that they can stay alive of a very long time and need zero human surveillance, as long as there are solarpower and all parts like legs, electronics, cameras and other sensors are operational (make them in a strong material like titanium).
...requires 4 AA batteries though. these aren't the tiny (size of a deck of cards0 solarbotics you've seen before, they're closer in footprint size comparable to that of a sheet of paper.
would it be possible to get a solar panel from radio-shack (~6$) to trickle charge the bug while it's active, thus increasing battery life? 2 solar cells?
a nice vivisection of the BIO Bugs:
http://www.solarbotics.net/biobugs/default.htm
moox. for a new generation.
(IAABR - I am a BEAM robotist(?))
Tilden ..[snip].. says he loves living in New Mexico."I can't think of a better place to release large herds of autonomous robots," he joked.
You know, New Mexicans should stop worrying about
UFOs, and start worrying about scientists
I'd like to know how he could have programmed responses like "fear of light" with a handful of discrete transistors.
Use two light sensors (such as light dependant resistors) to measure how much light the bug is in and to help guide the bug away from the light. When one sensor reaches a certain threshold, I imagine "move away from light" circuitry takes over and guides the bug towards darker areas with the light intensity information from the two light sensors - if the right sensor is darker, move right, if the left sensor is darker, move left.
What I'd like to know is, how they are implementing the downloadable transistor patterns. I know that reconfigurable digital logic can come in the form of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) so I wondered if there was such a thing as Field Programmable Transistor Arrays (FPTA). Punched it into Google and hey presto NASA has a paper on an FPTA that JPL has developed!
The thing that impressed me the most as I watched the show was that he could build one from a couple of old hand-held radios in about half an hour. It didn't have any kind of case on it and while it was "walking" he dropped his keys on it, shorting it's components. It promptly went into something resembeling a seiziure but when he removed the keys it went right on walking! How many computers are that durable?
These new bugs sound a bit more sophisticated but it seems to be the same general idea.
Disposable batteries are terrible for the environment, but people seem to be buying more all the time. With the motors in this bug, it'll eat batteries like roach food.
I'd like to see a story on Slashdot about using rechargables instead - and how can we spread the meme to get others to use them? I like the NiMH batteries I get from Thomas Distributing - I've used two sets I bought for my digital camera for over two years and over 14,000 pictures - and they recharge in two hours!
The antidote for misuse of freedom of speech is more freedom of speech.
-- Molly Ivins
I'm going to get modded to oblivian for this, but..
I hate to be a burster of bubbles, but this stuff is going too far. Sure, it's cool that Tilden makes these robots with a handful of transistors. What's not cool is how he goes on about how incredible they are, and implies that he can make them do things he can't. Yeah, that'd be cool if he could make these bugs clean his windows and vacuum his floors, like the article suggests. But how would that happen? It would have to be either so crude that it had to work, or so complex that his dinky little creatures could never do it. Folks, these are Braitenberg vehicles, nothing more. I just get very annoyed with the way he belittles digital computing, and yet has very little to show for things on the analog side.
What he can do in 5 transistors, I can do in 5 lines of code on a microcontroller. (Or 5 transistors, I'm not limited to the digital world. It's the design that matters.) And indeed, if a simple analog circuit can be built easily which solves the problem, it will invariably be superior to a comparable software solution. But the unfortunate fact is, you can't do anything worthwhile at this level of simplicity. Sure, biology is elegant. It's bloody incredible. But saying Tilden's robots are comparable to biology, or that they "learn", or any of the other claims I keep hearing... Yeesh. Let's get a grip, people. Ever heard of the C. Elegans? That's about as simple as biology gets, and yet it is lightyears ahead of anything we've got, digital or analog.
Yes, analog robotics are very cool. Yes, there is great potential. But BEAM robots? Let's get real. Use the best tool for the job, right? I have yet to see a job for which these devices prove more than mere toys. Somebody prove me wrong.
Modders, do your worst.
-David, President, IU Robotics Club
http://www.indiana.edu/~roboclub/index.html
The streets shall flow with the blood of the Guberminky.
... next year's toys will have 24 transitors (cost less and require 2 fans).
This is a great idea for kids to learn about neural networks. It's simple enough that a child (and adult) can understand but complex enough to be challenging.
The best part is the ability to "rewire" the BIOBugs neural network. The process of trying to figure out why the toy responds to stimulae, or how to get it to respond another way would encourage children to learn about a science that doesn't get much attention right now.
If the toy sells well, we may have a generation of people who can produce new and useful neural networks, for AI and other purposes. Robot Wars will become very interesting!
One BIO-Bug by itself is pretty dull. At $40 a pop, buying several ranks somewhere below buying a console game, which is fun by itself at about the same cost. They also turn worse than the Titanic on shag carpet, but seem to do better on linolium or hardwood.
I guess if you have a Garage, and can afford to blow $80+ on a few of these guys, they could be highly amusing. Maybe they're also good for the office, if your coworkers aren't annoyed by the constant "chirp-chirp-chirp-ANNNHHHHH-ANNNNHHHH!" sound that they emit...
Just my NSHO, after buying one a month ago and turning it on exactly three times.