Amoeboid Robot Moves Autonomously Without Centralized Brain

An anonymous reader sends this excerpt from MIT's Technology Review: "A new blob-like robot described in the journal Advanced Robotics uses springs, feet, 'protoplasm' and a distributed nervous system to move in a manner inspired by the slime mold Physarum polycepharum. ... Researcher Takuya Umedachi of Hiroshima University has been perfecting his blob-bot for years, starting with early prototypes that used springs but lacked an air-filled bladder. ... Umedachi modeled his latest version on the 'true' slime mold, which has been shown to achieve a 'human-like' decision-making capacity through properties emerging from the interactions of its individual spores (abstract). Slime molds appear to have general computational abilities, and you've probably heard that they can solve mazes."

Comments

When interviewed....

[Man On Pink Corner]

... the robot reportedly announced plans to seek the GOP Presidential nomination.

Re:When interviewed....

[zill]

It's gonna be tough to snatch those robot votes away from Romney.

Blob bots

[bmo]

Researcher Takuya Umedachi of Hiroshima University has been perfecting his blob-bot for years,

>modeled after slime mold

We would do well to look to Nature.

Here's one of Nature's blob bots in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7yUYDMtsfU&feature=related

--
BMO

Comparisons

[Lord Grey]

Umedachi modeled his latest version on the 'true' slime mold, which has been shown to achieve a 'human-like' decision-making capacity through properties emerging from the interactions of its individual spores.

Are we absolutely certain that some slime molds achieves 'human-like' decision-making capacity rather than some humans achieving slime mold-like decision-making capacity?

Sorry. I probably shouldn't bring U.S. politics into the discussion so early in the threads.