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Harvard's Robotic Bees Generate High-Tech Buzz

Posted by samzenpus on from the electric-honey dept.

coondoggie writes "Harvard researchers recently got a $10 million grant to create a colony of flying robotic bees, or RoboBees, to (among other things) spur innovation in ultra-low-power computing and electronic 'smart' sensors; and refine coordination algorithms to manage multiple, independent machines. The 5-year, National Science Foundation-funded RoboBee project could lead to a better understanding of how to mimic artificially the unique collective behavior and intelligence of a bee colony; foster novel methods for designing and building an electronic surrogate nervous system able to sense and adapt to changing environments; and advance work on the construction of small-scale flying mechanical devices, according to the Harvard RoboBee Web site."

7 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. Missing an important benefit by Iamthecheese · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They really should be trying to find something else: more reliable pollination. Yes real bees already do this but mass-produced robo-bees, besides being really cool, don't catch colony-dropping diseases.

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    If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    1. Re:Missing an important benefit by ciaohound · · Score: 4, Funny

      Then we'll all be installing RAV antivirus for BeOS.

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      Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
  2. What's the difference between Harvard and MIT? by QuantumG · · Score: 4, Funny

    Everything you do at MIT is pointless.
    You don't actually do anything at Harvard.

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    How we know is more important than what we know.
  3. Clever? by swanzilla · · Score: 4, Funny

    Harvard's Robotic Bees Generate High-tech Buzz

    said robotic bees also generate horribly obvious story title pun on /.

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    0 = 1 + e^(Alt something)
    1. Re:Clever? by mathx314 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, insect puns really tick me off.

  4. Looking into the future... by Bobfrankly1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    In the near future...
    "5 Million dollars worth of robo-bees were destroyed when a robotic "Pooh Bear" attempted to retrieve honey from the hive. The Pooh Bear lodged itself into the only high opening, preventing the colony from being able to return to their re-charging stations. Their charge depleted, they fell to the ground and shattered. A "r.a.b.b.i.t." is reportedly en-route to retrieve the pooh bear."

  5. Robotic Bees or Half Bees? by Master+Moose · · Score: 4, Funny

    Half a bee, philosophically, Must, ipso facto, half not be. But half the bee has got to be Vis a vis, its entity. D'you see? But can a bee be said to be Or not to be an entire bee When half the bee is not a bee Due to some ancient injury?

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    . . .gone when the morning comes