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Kilobots — Cheap Swarm Robots Out of Harvard
An anonymous reader writes with news of a research project at Harvard into controlling large swarms of small robots. This article describes what they call Kilobots. (Which, for clarity's sake, have nothing to do with killing. Yet.) Quoting:
"They're fairly simple little robots about the size of a quarter that can move around on vibrating legs, blink their lights, and communicate with each other. On an individual basis, this isn't particularly impressive, but Kilobots aren't designed to be used on an individual basis. Costing a mere $14 each and buildable in about five minutes, you don't just get yourself one single Kilobot. Or ten. Or a hundred. They're designed to swarm in the thousands."
I'd like to be the first to welcome out new robot overlords.
If there's anything I can do to make this transition easier on you, you need but ask. Oh, and that neighbor I don't like is part of the resistance.
Obligatory XKCD
Haven't braitenberg vehicles kind of simulated this kind of behavior for a while now?
Its a cool idea and all but designed for the thousands? What on Earth would I want a thousand little vibrating bots that jostle around in circles and blink at eachother for?
Michael Crichton wrote a book about how we thought we could control thousand of nanobots using swarm theory. I wonder if they are using algorithms derived from bees. As long as we don't develop AI anytime soon, I think we are safe.
Indeed, they could have chosen a less ominous name.
Like fluffyboppers.
You could kill a robot. Maybe even 10. But, in the thousands, even if they are tiny and weak, you will lose.
They are so cute!
I don't even know why but I was "awww"ing when all the robots started to blink their lights in unison.
A swarm of creatures with low intelligence? You mean, that Harvard manufactured the Canuks rioters/fans?
The battery life is only 3 hours, and is non rechargeable.. I'd REALLY hate being the intern at a company using a swarm of 1000s of these guys after the first experiment.
I'm not too worried, as my gigantic robotic stamping boot is in alpha testing
I'm afraid I misread the headline as something much, much cooler.
Did anyone else read that Harvard had invented a "cheap swarm of killbots?"
Because that would be awesome.
Even ducks can kill you, given enough ducks
(Which, for clarity's sake, have nothing to do with killing. Yet.)
Thank fucking god we have editors. I might have never realized that "kilo" could refer to anything but killing.
No, the /. readers are, as I am, buck-toothed sloping-foreheaded morons who think that "kilobot" means robots that kill things. We've obviously never used any computers outside of an Xbox, let alone the metric fucking system, and that is why we're all reading a goddamned tech news site.
I understand that small steps (no pun intended) need to be taken to advance the state of the art, but this remains an academic novelty until these little guys can do something useful. Doesn't have to be terribly complicated. There are plenty of simple yet highly repetitious and tedious tasks that would be perfect for a cooperating swarm of little worker bots working in parallel. Like carrying the leaves off of the lawn and depositing them in the woods (or a recycling bag) in the fall or similar. Then I would be impressed (and would be the first in line to buy the kit).
Why am I thinking about the replicators from SG-SG1??? ;^)
How long until they divide into two camps and fight to the death over whether kilo = 1000 or 1024?
That's about the size of 15 pence, for readers in the UK.
Am I the only one who read that as killbots, and then got really excited?
and I think they won't do so well on my carpets. But how about swarm wars? THAT'S cool!
Nate
1024 kilobots = 1 Megabot
1024 Megabots = 1 Gigabot (aka 1 Decepticon)
1024 Gigabots = 1 Terabot
1024 Terabots = 1 Petabot (A sufficient number of bots to enslave humanity)
1024 Petabots = 1 Exabot (A sufficient number of bots to enslave the the planets in our solar system)
1024 Exabots = 1 Zettabot (A sufficient number of bots to enslave our galaxy)
1024 Zettabots = 1 Yottabot (A sufficient number of bots to enslave 25% of the known universe)
1024 Yottabots = A sufficient number of bots bots to replace all interesting objects in the known (and unknown) parts of the universe with Kilobot swarms.
My Kilobot has Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available.
So they're working on robot swarms that will totally not try to wipe out humanity?
Even as a pun, that's a Suspiciously Specific Denial.
Pew! And I was worried about kilobots turning on us. It's them yottabots we should be worried about. Oh, wait a minute.. I think they've so throughly won we call their collective reality.
I was very impressed by that synchronized blinking action there. That will come in handy... Endless possibilities there, my friend... endless
I really don't get what is the point with using bots like that.
With such limited functionality, they should be really easy to simulate, wouldn't they?
This must be some kind proof of concept and even to prove a certain controlling concept they shouldn't have to use robots.
No, this must be for fun or to attract attention.
Granted, the last part of the movie was really cool.
Nothing to do with killing? Pshaw.
But it's okay; kilobots have a pre-set kill limit. I shall merely send wave after wave of my men at them until they reach that limit, and shut down.
Only now you have to buy parts off ebay
sysadmins and parents of newborns get the same amount of sleep.
...please pick up the shaped like a galaxy class starship courtesy telephone please...
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
I misread and was hoping for cheap swarms of killbots...
Kilobots â" Cheap Swarm Robots Out of Harvard
We call them politicians. They come straight of of Harvard with hair gel and sense of entitlement already applied.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
He called them "BitBots" and they feature prominently in his recent book "The Dervish House."
I want some.
Why use real robots? Swarming/flocking behaviours can be simulated beautifully in software at $0 extra per unit..
more like Yawnbots
http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Legion
Legion is a unique geth mobile platform, designed to operate outside the Perseus Veil and interact with organics directly. To that purpose, it houses 1,183 geth programs, as opposed to the one hundred in other platforms, enabling it to operate independently and speak.... ...If questioned about specifically using Shepard's N7 armour to repair itself, Legion becomes evasive, first rationalizing with "there was a hole" and then states "no data available" after being pressed, suggesting that it was the result of an irrational action, which goes against the concept that every action the geth take is the result of calculation, unaffected by emotion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMPeG3pQlPw&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF7KYQ1_jKo
Waking up the Geth: (there is a new faction inside the Geth (that break apart from the earlier less evolutioned ones), that builds their own future, no one will be armed ... unless they involve themselves...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMzBSRityaU&feature=related
Geth enters the Quarian ship: (Geth meet their creators, creators meet their killers, the Geth keep the homeworld and the Quarians had to scape and live exiled)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDemlIaPv18&feature=related
Of course the Geth views's of the whole story is just the opposite, they were just defending themselves .... which may not be false.
Did you even know you could get in love with them?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IdIhFXcRl8
I love Legion's mind machine calculations all the time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJI66t-B83g&feature=related
I propose Kilobots get to work on the home page of their mothership Self-Organizing Systems Research Group that looks straight from the nineties with fuzzy background images and large images for headlines included. I know, I know, substance over style but a little more style wouldn't hurt for a presumable word-class research outfit.
Swarm behavior requires a mutual awareness between devices. This is simply a remote control which affects a large number of units. The problem with this approach is that it only works initially, but random differences in movement become magnified over time. Since each bot movement includes a random margin of error (think: drunkard's walk) the "swarm" will dissipate over time and show less cohesion. In true swarm behavior, each individual actor (bot, in this case) is aware of the greater swarm.
------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
.. but what do they DO ?
The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
I'd like to remind them that as a typical US SlashDot reader, I carry enough body weight to generate plenty of BTUs for their energy fields.
What is the purpose of these bots other then just run around and talk amongst themselves???
My life for Aiur!