New Atlas

Robotics Audio available

Robotic "particles" swarm together to move towards the light

Michael Irving March 20, 2019

Most robots are usually made to do one particular job, so they’re not very adaptable to new situations. But researchers at MIT, Harvard, Columbia and Cornell Universities have developed particle robots – simple circular devices that can connect to each other magnetically to move and work as a swarm.

A new system of "particle robots" can swarm together to achieve things that individual units can't ...

Marine

Aquabotix unleashes swarming, swimming, autonomous robots

Michael Irving April 8, 2018

Swarms of insects and schools of fish have inspired engineers to create groups of robots that move as one entity, and now Aquabotix has unleashed SwarmDiver, a series of small synchronized swimmers loaded with sensors for defense, research or monitoring applications.

Aquabotix has unveiled SwarmDiver – swarming, swimming robots that can be controlled as one entity

Robotics

Are face-reading blimps and quadcopters in "top hats" the future of drone safety?

Michael Irving May 15, 2017

As more drones crowd into the airspace, we’re going to need measures to keep them from crashing into each other. Researchers are teaching drones a few simple rules to help them avoid collisions on their own.

Georgia Tech is developing safer drones, including autonomous blimps that can read faces and gestures

Robotics

Swarming robot boats demonstrate self-learning

David Szondy February 2, 2016

In a first for swarm robotics, a team of engineers has demonstrated intelligent aquatic surface robots that can operate together in a real-world environment using "Darwinian" learning.

The sea-going robots are made using digital manufacturing techniques

Electronics

BitDrones could be used in flying interactive displays

Colin Jeffrey November 9, 2015

BitDrones are flying 3D display pixels that are designed to swarm in their thousands to produce giant, interactive graphic displays that could be used for the likes of 3D gaming, medical imaging, and molecular modelling.

Researchers have created a collaborating swarm of drones that act as 3D pixels (voxels) and promises ...

Robotics

CoCoRo underwater mini-robots school like fish and share knowledge

Ben Coxworth May 28, 2015

The European Union CoCoRo research consortium has been developing three varieties of autonomous underwater robots that school together like fish. By doing so, the little bots can share and learn from each others' "knowledge" of their environment, acting as a collective cognitive system.

A group of "Lily" CoCoRo robots communicate with one another using their LEDs

Robotics

Low-cost autonomous robots replicate swarming behavior

Richard Moss September 21, 2014

Scientists at the University of Lincoln have developed a tiny, low-cost autonomous robot that replicates the behavior of swarming honeybees and uses an obstacle detection system inspired by locusts.

Colias is a tiny, low-cost autonomous robot that replicates the behavior of swarming honeybees and uses ...

Robotics

Over 1,000 robots swarm together in Harvard lab

Ben Coxworth August 15, 2014

Researchers are currently looking into ways of allowing "swarms" of communicating robots to accomplish tasks that are difficult or even impossible for single robots. Harvard University recently performed an unprecedented demonstration of that behavior, using a batch of over 1,000 tiny Kilobots.

Just a few of the Kilobots that were part of the swarm

Robotics

One hundred Harvard Kilobots swarm together

Jason Falconer January 21, 2013

Harvard's Self-Organizing Systems Research Group has published some videos showing up to 100 Kilobots working together.

One hundred Kilobots move towards a light source

Robotics

Ping-pong ball-sized Droplet robots work by swarming together

Jason Falconer December 18, 2012

Swarm robots are learning to move in groups and communicate with one another, at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Small swarm robots, like these "Droplets" developed at the University of Colorado Boulder, work together to ...