Termite-inspired robots

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A termite-inspired robot in the foreground and a structure made out of blocks under construction by other robots in the background.

Termite-inspired robots

termites build, and was accomplished by developing simple rules to allow the robots to navigate and move building blocks in their environment. By following these simple rules, the robots could construct complex structures through a process called stigmergy
, without requiring constant human instruction or supervision.

Background

Roboticists have been interested in the problem of whether robots can be designed with the limited sensory and motor capabilities of insects such as termites and yet, by following simple rules, construct elaborate and complex structures.[1][3][4][5][6][7]

Robots

As part of the TERMES project, the Harvard team designed each robot to perform a few simple behaviors: to move forward, move backward, turn, move up or down a step the size of a specially designed brick, and to move while carrying a brick on top of it. To perform these locomotor behaviors, each robot was equipped with

infrared sensors to detect black and white patterns for navigation; an accelerometer to detect tilt angle for climbing; and five ultrasound sonar detectors for determining distance from the perimeter and to nearby robots. To lift, lower, and place the specially designed bricks, each robot had an arm with a spring-loaded gripper to hold a brick while carried. The project's specially designed construction bricks were 21.5 cm × 21.5 cm × 4.5 cm, which was bigger than the footprint (17.5 cm × 11.0 cm) of the robots.[1]

Constructing structures

During the Harvard trials, groups of termite-inspired robots constructed structures by stigmergy. That is, instead of directly communicating with each other, the robots detected features of their environment and followed simple rules for moving and placing bricks in response to the configuration of bricks that existed at a given time. The rules for constructing a given structure were designed to guarantee that different structures emerged depending on the number of robots involved and on the initial placement of bricks.[1][7]

The TERMES robots constitute a

levees in flood zones.[3][5][6][8]

References

  1. ^
    S2CID 38776920
    .
  2. ^ a b "Robotic construction crew needs no foreman". Harvard University. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b Kim, Meeri (13 February 2014). "Robotic termites may one day build houses, not destroy them". Washington Post. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  4. ^ Greenfieldboyce, Nell (13 February 2014). "Robot Construction Workers Take Their Cues From Termites". NPR. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  5. ^ a b Landau, Elizabeth (13 February 2014). "How termite-inspired robots could build for us". CNN. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Amos, Jonathan (13 February 2013). "Termites inspire robot builders". BBC. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  7. ^
    S2CID 30040333
    .
  8. S2CID 112117767
    . Retrieved 20 February 2014.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Termite-inspired_robots&oldid=1077067261"