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Robot Piloted by a Slime Mold
TeknoHog writes "Robotics researchers from the UK and Japan have linked up a slime mold to remotely control a six-legged robot. The mold, which is naturally light-sensitive, is able to hide the robot in dark corners, and the scientists expect to further this technology for use in smaller, autonomous units. There is also a preprint of the research paper available from the University of Southampton."
oh, never mind
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
My, that was a yummy slime mold!.
The Army reading list
I know a slime mold that has a PhD in literature.
If you're interested in the subject, check out Klaus-Peter Zauner's publication: Robot Control: From Silicon Circuitry to Cells
a photocapacitor or some other light sensitive electronics wouldn't suffice?
The mold in my shower has been doing this kinda stuff for years!
http://religiousfreaks.com/Similar study last year. Experimental "brain" (25,000 living neurons, taken from a rat's brain and cultured inside a glass dish) interacts with an F-22 fighter jet flight simulator through a specially designed multi-electrode array and a desktop computer
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/11/02/brain.dish/
The news is that people are able to now work with them. Light sensors based on silicon and other materials simple take advantage of the light sensitive properties of the material. Using a biological material is no different, other than the need to 'feed' the sensor. As this story and experiment play out, there is no ready made practical application waiting for its development. The real advance here is working with biological sensors. Such work will hopefully lead to sensors that are sensitive enough to detect humans in the wreckage of a bombed building, or cancers (as some dogs can with smell) or other such sensitivities that simply don't seem possible with non-organic materials. This probably isn't going to lead to a bio-brain for robotics, but will make them much more sensitive in the sensor domain. Imagine if a robot could see or smell the way that some insects do? This would lead to robots that are much more capable, and much more useful for all sorts of dangerous work. Imagine a robot that works in water that can find even the tiniest of leaks on an oil tanker? Perhaps a robot that can sniff out drugs in cargo planes etc. The reason for sensors that are orders of magnitude better than what is available today goes without saying, more or less. This type of work will help make it more achievable, hopefully.
Already, they are training bees (in minutes) to sense out things that takes months of training for dogs. This type of bio-sensor systems will hopefully make such work even easier to achieve. I can see that one day, a search and rescue helicopter can drop a truck load of independent water robots that seek out and locate humans in the middle of the ocean, saving lives by finding them faster than current methods, and bio-sensors may be the ticket to such advances.
That's my take...
Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
Thats no way to talk about the geeky research assistant holding the joystick... tho this description could be apt, I'm sure it applies to a fair few here on slashdot including myself after a late coding session (slimey, moldy, and avoiding light)
Music, Games, Media Art and Programming
...attempts to merge a gelatinous cube with a Honda Civic have been less than successful. Kobold scientists blame this frustrating failure on a lower fuel efficiency due to the inefficient wind flow design. "We'd like to take these experiments to the next level," the designers said, "but we just don't have the experience at this time."
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
Let me know when they get a robot piloted by a gelatinous cube or a gibbering mouther.
Cue the "backseat mother-in-law driver" jokes...
--
make install -not war
The Liberal Party of Canada is seeking anyone or anything to be the new party Leader.
Currently most human beings and other vertebrates have declined the oportunity.
Perhaps dark seeking slime molds could fulfill this roll. Cephalopods could also apply.
... this particular robot now favors unreasonably large subsidies to the slime mold planet, doesn't it?
A guy walks into a bar... well, I forgot the joke, but the punchline is that he's an alcoholic.
moldy robots lurking in dark corners.
Am I the only one that finds this somewhat creepy?
when they finally made that pilot, they threw away the mold.
whoops.
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
How the hell was a slime mold able to get a mech before me?!?!?
Broke the mold - 143,000 hits
Threw away the mold - 2,140 hits
Where do you people come up with this stuff? It's broke I say, broke!
I for one welcome our new molded slimy robot-controlling overlords AND In Soviet America slimy molds control you (slimy molds being president/politicians/RIAA)
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
until some idiot gets the user name slimmold and posts here and everyone will give him a 5 funny.
...mold and mildrew remover when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.
-- Fugacity: Confusing chemists since 1908
I remember that... last I knew of it, it could only keep the plane (simulator in level flight, but even so its really something and is a start towards non-human pilots and learning just how brains are formed and work.
It hides from the light but gravitates toward Sarah Connor.
Kinda wish I hadn't cleaned up earlier, I had a sandwich old enough to give Deep Blue a run for its money.
Robot Piloted by a Slime Mold
:)
human = a very complex robot
human brain = big mass of slime/goo
So how is this news? We already have over 6 billion on the planet.
Why did they have to do a nasty thing like that and take the pseudo out of pseudopod???? :(
...about being slower than mold. :(
If it ain't broke, it needs more features!
No big deal...one's VP of the U.S. already.
Here in the US we've got a slime mold running our country.
Dalek "little green blobs in bonded polycarbide armour". And it's even a british research team!
It's intelligently designed!
This sounds like the perfect technology for France.
The robot army can just hide in the corner 'til America arrives to bail them out.
You hit the slime mold.
The slime mold hits you.
The slime mold's robot hits you.
You hit the slime mold.
The slime mold hits you.
The slime mold's robot hits you.
You miss the slime mold.
The slime mold hits you.
The slime mold's robot hits you.
You are dead.
-hit spacebar for high scores-
-=Zeus=And=Hades=-
Slime Mold: "You call that a proper welcome for your Over Lord?"
It is a great idea. We could use this technology to create a whole army of slime controlled robots that hide in dark corners. AlQaeda are known to frequent dark corners and when they do BLAM!
So they've invented Krang?
I for one welcome our new invertebrate overlords, and their psychicly controlled killing robots which will help them enslave the human race.
When i see am interesting article on Slashdot, i like to click on "Read more" to see the comments. Often you find lots of posts from knowledgable people on the subject matter, who really contribute meaning and insight to the article. As of late though, it seems like the vast majority of comments are from people trying to be "funny". Funny is all well and fine, but it seems the articles most blasted with this tripe are the ones that are science based. What happened to the slashdot that used to be a feeding tough for real geeks?
Wasn't there a Japanese movie about that? Godzilla verses Slimydra or something?
...have linked up a slime mold to remotely control a six-legged robot...
Me, being in charge of personell, am generally viewed as slime, and I generally view my subjects as six-legged robots. So doing the math I fail to see this inovation as something more than curcumspect.
I think you underestimate just how much I just dont care.
Or Nethack...
What do you want to eat? [b-h or ?*] h
My, that was a yummy slime mold!
It still doesn't creep me out as much as Asimo.
As cool as this is, i feel bad for the guy. But he's had plenty of warning.
It's just a matter of time before Davros hijacks his research to create the Daleks.
Darth --
Nil Mortifi, Sine Lucre
They'll be too busy hiding in the dark for me to even notice them. :)
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
The poor thing cannot move on his own so every few hours i have to make sure he is in a dark enviroment.
With that robot thing my harry (harry is his name) can finally regain his mobility and lead a full life again.
Im so happy right now im crying, does anyone know where to buy these robots.
I for one welcome our light-sensitive autonomous slide mold human-killer-robot-pilot overlords!
Horns are really just a broken halo.
I am not impressed by this at all. If you read the article header, it makes it seem like the Green slime somehow controls the robot in a way that it knows it is moving the robot to a dark corner. Instead, all that has been done is to sense the natural movement of the slime away from light and carry those command over to a robot. This, for me, is no different than the way we make CG characters like Gollum in Lord of the Rings. This is no new technology, just a new subject with a nudge to force the slime to do something.
Oh come on, I know it's group-think, but those mod points are burning a hole in your pocket.
When is this going to be in Nethack?
Frog blast the vent core.
What is wrong with this story. We actually give superhero suits to molds now.
Mars attacks go home, the new thing is Slime attacks.
Outsourcing of pilot jobs to slime mold, I tell ya it's insane. Sure they're cheap, sure they have MBAs from Harvard but what you save on the pilot costs you lose on the crashes and lawsuits and the uuurrrhhh slime.
...is can they win the fight against the koreans..?
I love humanity, it is people I hate
I, for one, welcome our Robotic Slime-Mold Overlords.
The future of law enforcement... Blobocop!
Sorry, that's all I have.
>> Well, I for one welcome our...
It wouldn't be such a big change, since since we already have slimy overlords.
At least real slime molds aren't susceptible to bribery and corruption, and have far higher competence in the area that they are directing.
1000 years from now even people will be controlled by slime. This is just the start! Resist the slime!
Sparks:Gadget:Beer Maker
Once they get machine guns you'll see how dumb they are.
Errr, I work at the University of Southampton. I just came into my office and read this while having my morning wake-me-up coffee.
Should I be shitting myself right about now?
"Proudly Posting Without Reading The Article"
Does anyone remember that weird British science-fiction show called Sapphire & Steel? I seem to remember that at end of the series the main characters encounter some not-so-nice living/robot hybrid. An amalgamation of the brain tissue of various animals hooked up to hardware. Not very pleasant if my childhood memories are correct.
Slime Moulds are basically single celled organisms, and while they can achieve some interesting feats, they don't have a nervous system that could in any way be called central.
Fascinating things though... never knew anything about them before just now :)
MOLD is the English name for a town in Wales, called Yr Wyddgrug in the local language. Grid reference is SJ238644; lat 53.171301 long -3.141119. A container in which a liquid is solidified so as to take on its shape, or a usually-fluffy fungal mass, is called a MOULD. With a U in it.
You see here a robot. t
What do you want to throw? [adfh or ?*] h
In which direction? 6
The slime mold hits the robot.
The slime mold takes control of the robot!
The robot hits!
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
it's a pressure switch.. it's not hardwired to the cells... when the mold moves, the motion is detected.. and then the robot moves.
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
People have been electing Slime Mold since the dawn of democracy
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
And in the future, slime mold will take over the legal departme... oh, forget it.
Ooh! Cool! Better go RTFA!
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Cylons. These scientists are out of their fracking mind. Don't they know that this is going to throw a serious wrench into the colonists ability to reach earth.
scientists invent dialeks!
Lawyers have been operating vehicles for decades! And they lurk in dark corners too!
"Sarcasm is for *winners*, Alan." - Charlie Harper (Two and a Half Men)
I've been slimed!
Given how many cars around here are driven by slime molds, does it exhibits road-rage behaviour????
Well, we couldn't give legs to Superman, but we managed to make mobile, something that never was. That should count for something, shouldn't it? :)
Good work, guys!
--- For a good time mail uce@ftc.gov
isn't this how they piloted the statue of libery?
Slime molds have been at the helm of large multinationals for years
How long before someone ports Linux to slime mold?
This sig has exceed its monthly bandwidth allotment.
Hook up the robot to Plankton, steal the Crabby Patty secret formula, and achieve world domination.
Davroooooossssss !
Exterminaaate ! Exterminaaaate ! Exterminaaate !
Need I say more?
Now you've got me wanting to create a "hunting slime molds by remote control" website. Like the big game ones that they've banned here and there already, but I suspect even PETA would find it hard to attack hunting a one-celled organism, even if a large and colourful one.
Peter Watts's Rifter trilogy will be of interest to anyone who finds this or toxoplasma or even just very well researched hard SF entertaining. Until his first two books resume printing, they are available on his website http://rifters.com/real/shorts.htm under the Creative Commons licencse. Enjoy!
The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it. - William Gibson
This kind of technology, using an animal to control a vehicle by converting the animal's responses into control inputs for the vehicle, goes back at least to WWII... you can see a picture of one of Skinner's pigeon-guided bombs here and here, and more details here.
It was never deployed, but it worked more than half the time in test runs... how good are today's "precision" munitions?
They built a Dalek?
You could add this to a Roomba to create a vacuum cleaner that lives under the bed during the day and comes out at night to vacuum the house. But I hope you don't own a cat.
Cylons.
Wasps zombify roaches. Check.
Computer viruses take over machines. Check.
Slime molds control robots. Check.
What's next, machines controlling people?
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
This has awesome potential. The article mentions that the slime mold also has sensory organelles for detecting prey. Some other type of robotic sensor could be used to stimulate those organelles, and the slime's predatory activities could be fed back into some giant robotic claws or something.
So how long until this finds its way into Nethack?
I imagine the same research could help develop human prosthetics. Having to grow and feed a sensor might someday apply to artificial skin or retinal tissue. Or maybe just a better connection between the mechanical implant and the cells that control it.
...if you somehow convinced the robot to clean the mold in your shower, would that be considered genocide?
Perhaps our intrepid robot pilot is that famous Ganymedean slime mold, Lord Running Clam. I believe he also has an advanced degree in Anthropology.
It is cowardly, and a betrayal of whatever it means to be a Jew, to act as a white man
-James Baldwin
This sounds like a very poorly written Sci-Fi plot, or maybe the precursor to Daleks.
We could have NPCs on MUDs and MMORPGs controlled by slime molds! Server rooms will have to be kept dark and damp... gaming will never be the same.
</prior art>
The shower in my mold.... should I continue?
You can't handle the truth.
I DIDn't know my girlfriend's mom knew how to operate a robot! AlienSlave
What do you want to eat? [b-h or ?*] h
My, that was a yummy slime mold!
You enjoy it for a few seconds before you choke to death on the robot it was piloting. YASD.
I, for one, welcome the day that the paraphrasing of that old joke gets one shot.
A holy crap, this parent should be modded 'troll,' with all it's Comp Sci bias. You know, there ARE OTHER SCIENTISTS BESIDES COMP SCIS, YOU SILLY BOY/GIRL/HERM! Just because you surround yourself with bit pushers, doesn't mean everyone with a PhD doesn't know how to do things in real space and can only be hired by Google.
I've seen far scarier things driving taxis.
And look forward to the appearance of their mold-controlled Giant Robots!
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
why my athletes foot caused me to crash the car this morning!
:)
Looks look my insurance has some extra paper work to do
Looks like the D&D Guys are going to have to update their Monster Manual.
MadOgre.com
At least real slime molds aren't susceptible to bribery and corruption [...] ...yet.
Leave it to the Abramoff's of the world. They'll find a way.
As if enough things in my life don't already find ways to hide in dark corners?
``Honey, where's the hammer?''
``Oddly enough, when I was vacuuming, I found it under the desk in the bedroom. I could have sworn it was scurrying.''
Mark my words, one day these light-hating slime molds will gather together their robots and use them to block out the sun forever!
``Honey, where's the hammer?''
That's your problem. You only have one. My dad taught me (by example) that if you can't find a tool, it means you don't have enough instances of that tool and you need to buy another one. Once you have thirty or so hammers, you won't have any trouble finding one around the house within 5 minutes or so.
Same goes for socket sets, screw driver sets, drills, etc.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
"My that was a tasty slime mold"....
:-)
Well somebody had to do it!
This may be stupid and pointless, but what if the robot was wired to go _toward_ light as a response to the mold trying to escape the light? Would the mold change it's behavior?
There's potential for a self-cleaning bathroom in here somewhere...
I like toast!
Cool...
Everyone knows slime molds are for eating!
Taciturn?...check!
Hates light?...check!
Bad skin?...check!
No sex ever?...check!
Write your own punchline.
So was it Fred or Persephone?
http://undecidedgames.blogspot.com
No they're not, they have several nuclei. The cell walls ("membranes") are just missing.