 |
Insbot Robot Cockroaches Make Friends And Influence... Roaches
Robot cockroaches (or "robo-roaches") are making friends fast - and influencing their behavior. Thanks to microelectronics and pheromones, the Leurre project can do research on building and controlling mixed societies comprised of animals and tiny machines. (Note: Although this has been described as a "breaking news story" on some sites, it's actually about a year old. The project ended on August 31, 2005, according to the project website.)
(Robot cockroach and friends)
Even though this is an "old" story, I couldn't resist. It turns out that once you spray on the pheromones, and provide some reasonably roach-like behavior, the little robots are accepted by the cockroach group. And since cockroaches display group behaviors, an assertive robot roach can influence the real cockroaches in the group. For example, they can convince the real roaches to leave shaded areas and venture out into the light. The robots were provided with programming to make them both seek out real roaches, and then veer toward lit areas.
The ultimate goal of the project is to gain a better understanding of how animals interact to create a sort of collective intelligence. It may lead to innovative forms of artificial intelligence. I'm hoping it leads to more influence over pests.
In his excellent short story The Scarab, written in 1936, science fiction writer Raymond Z. Gallun creates a very detailed picture of a tiny robotic machine used for surveillance:
The Scarab paused on its perch for a moment, as if to determine for itself whether it was perfectly fit for action. It was a tiny thing, scarcely more than an inch and a half in length...About it, as it scrambled forward, were weeds and bushes and grass, which, from its miniature point of view, constituted a thick and threatening jungle... a large, vicious-looking beetle barred the way, its chitinous mandibles opening and closing suggestively.
(Read more about the Scarab robotic machine)
The Scarab was remote-controlled, so it was not an autonomous robot; however, most of its behaviors were programmed in.
One interesting detail, from the standpoint of this news story, is that the creators of the Scarab sometimes used it to pick fights with other beetles. Maybe Mr. Gallun should have been thinking about how to use it to make friends...
If you are interested in cockroaches and robotics (and who isn't?), read this "tables-are-turned" article about cockroach-controlled robot about a roach who can drive. If that's not enough for you, check out DARPA's plans for a zombie insect army. Read more about robo-roaches; take a look at the Leurre project website.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/9/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion (Back On) ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Cheetah Cub Robot From PKD's Android Dreams
'What about an exact electric duplicate of your cat?'- Philip K. Dick, 1968.
CurvACE Artificial Compound Insect Eye
'...transmitting to its manipulator, far away now, all that it ... saw with its minute vision tubes.'- Raymond Z. Gallun, 1936.
MIT Robot Cheetah Video Shows Gait Transition
'The legs are long, curled way up to deliver power, like a cheetah's.'- Neal Stephenson, 1992.
Drosophila Robotica, The Mechanical Fly
'... the Scarab [flying robot] buzzed into the great workroom as any intruding insect might...'- Raymond Z. Gallun, 1936.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
Is Noam Chomsky As Paranoid As Philip K. Dick?
'I'm Bill Behren... Operator of fly 33408...'
Low-Cost, Implantable Electronics Get Closer
Better coatings need to become a reality.
'Marauder's Map' Created By Carnegie Melllon
'Is that Dumbledore in his study?'
Cheetah Cub Robot From PKD's Android Dreams
'What about an exact electric duplicate of your cat?'
Dead Cellphone? Try Solar-Powered Public Charging Stations
'Then he saw the geek ... leaning against one of the slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...'
Hungry? Grow Nutritious Insects At Home
'...I balked when my wife served me termites.'
Snowboarding On Mars? Heinlein Was Ready
How long ago did Robert Heinlein write about skiing on dry alien worlds?
Orwell's '1984' Hits Bestseller Lists Thanks To PRISM
'There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.'
Roboroach Control? There's An App For That
'A cable, here, from the controller to the interface plug... wires from that to the brain.'
Court OK's DNA Collection Like 'Gattaca'
DNA sampling is not the same as fingerprinting.
Squid Vs. Whale Diorama Liked By Humans, Aliens
'Everything was ready, awaiting the Overlords' pleasure...'
Iceberg Harvesting Off Newfoundland's Coast
'Five hundred billion gallons worth of Antarctic iceberg had been towed into Santa Monica Bay.'
Sony's A4-Sized Flexible Digital Paper Notepad
'...he would plug his foolscap-sized Newspad into the ship's information circuit and scan the latest reports...'
Contact Lens Video Display Electronics Now Transparent
'He realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it...'
Tesla's Supercharge Station Plan
'To recharge the batteries, which can be done in almost every town and village...'
Millimeter-Scale Computing For 'Internet of Things'
'In their megalomania they thought to make the very sand beneath their feet intelligent...'
