Robot Builds Itself For Special Tasks

In one of the latest studies on autonomous robots, scientists sat back and watched as their robot created itself out of smaller robotic modules.
The result, called “swarm-bot,” comes in many varieties, depending on the assigned task and available components.
As the current state of the art in autonomous self-assembly, swarm-bots offer insight into the potential versatility and robustness that robots may possess to perform missions beyond human abilities.

A project coordinated by Professor Marco Dorigo, which was sponsored by the Future and Emerging Technologies program of the European Community, provided the impetus behind the swarm-bots.
The researchers built small identical robots that can sense and latch onto each other to self-configure a giant specimen with no center of command.
Looking sort of like a train or a swarm of bees, swarm-bots can assemble themselves up to any finite size, the scientists predict.

“As components of many living systems, the s-bots of our system can self-organize,” co-author Roderich Groß told PhysOrg.com.
“Each individual robot module, called an ‘s-bot,’ interacts only with other s-bots in its immediate vicinity.
Failures that occur in one or a few s-bots are therefore unlikely to have any significant impact on the performance of the entire system.
Also, the system does not require any supplementary equipment such as global communication channels.
We make use of a design approach based on swarm intelligence and evolutionary computation principles, as it helps shape the control to be both reliable and effective even if large numbers of s-bots are involved.”


SOURCE:
Physorg.com

This is a very cool robotic system.

I can definitely see these being the early versions of robotic sys-
tems in the future.

These robots could be used for everything from Space Exploration
to Emergency Services.


Comments, Opinions?

Robots becoming self aware ...I've seen this on T".Don't say I didn't warn you IORI lol.

KUHL Human protector

The Author Michael Crichton wrote a novel about something just like this recently about nanoparticles that do the same thing. Let me tell you it doesn't end well as these particles escape and evolve, by using cellualr organic particles to attach and replicate themselves from. It even has the whole hive mind concept.

YIPE!

In the same Spirit, this idea was also used on many episodes of Stargate SG1. They were called replicators.

I shudder...

Cool invention, frightening potential for good or ill.

-ADHD

Woah there, don't start biting your nails over Artificial Intelligence yet, lol.

No, this is not Artificial Intelligence, not the likes you would see in the movies.
Cluster-bots or "swarm" robots do use some very clever programming though, but it's not a learning system.

Essentially they are programmed to use some as the base, some as the chassis, and some as the apendages... that's really all they understand, as that is all they are programmed to do.
You give them a task, they join together to support each other in completing the task. The trick is that the programming is done in a way that they can make a larger machine depending on the task required.

And no, they can't evolve. They can't remake themselves, they are a collection of robots that join together to complete a task, rather than one pre-defined machine completing the task.

Again, I often mention it, the only real Artificial Intelligence in existance, it's brain takes up the size of a gymnasium, and it has the IQ of a small insect.
Everyone else claiming to be using Artificial Intelligence is mis-using the term. And there are ALOT of people mis-using the term.

There's a big difference between adaptable programming, and Artificial Intelligence.
AI doesnt need to be told anything, it doesnt require programming, it doesnt require commands. AI is completley independant and self driven.

There still isn't a single machine in existance that is self aware.
No machine actually understands it's existance enough to question it.


Aside from this, cluster-bots are a very necessary step towards such things as damage control, and construction purposes, and I praise the engineers efforts in these areas.

On another note, it looks like we may have a new model of RCMP bomb disposer robot to construct, so I may have to wait for a few weeks to start overseeing the project, due to the time it takes to get the designs finalized.

And yes, again, they've gone and chosen another name I found hilarious, the last design we 'were' going to construct was the Mark T2, this new one coming in is the Mark T3.
I laugh every time I see that designation.
But I'm going to name the first T3 "Igor", as it looks like something professor Frankenstein would have made.

[edit on 22-2-2007 by johnsky]

Originally posted by johnsky
There still isn't a single machine in existance that is self aware.

I agree with the general thrust of your post, but isn't this just a matter of definition? By some definitions, even a thermostat is (in a very limited way) self-aware.